Power
by gizmo8us
Summary: Blair and Chuck and the power they hold over each other.
1. The Power of Him

She watched him walking towards her and she hated the way he moved on her like she was prey and he was ready to pounce. She hated it so much she muttered a curse under her breath and tried to look away from him. But something inside her made her hold his heated gaze even as everything else screamed at her in disgust.

Damn it, she had to get away before he got any closer. He was half way across the huge ballroom, drink in each hand and with that look. He would be in front of her in moments.

She wanted to flee. To run until she knew he couldn't find her.

But she stood still, watching him weaving through the crowded party, his eyes only on her.

A tall, busty blond stepped in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, glancing towards the blond for the briefest of seconds, then his gaze was back on her, ogling her as he looked over the blond's shoulder.

She heaved a sigh of relief and prayed the other girl would take him away, tempt him into going with her instead.

He was after all, a man women wanted to be with. A man that made a female's I.Q. Drop into the single digits and forget about every other man in the room.

It was his way. She hated his self-confidence, a self confidence that bordered on arrogance. No, that wasn't true, it didn't border on arrogance. It simply was arrogance. He was unmistakably the most arrogant son-of-a-bitch she had ever met.

And it killed her that she still could not break his gaze. His blue eyes pinned her to the spot, holding her there as if by some invisible rope.

She wished she could say that his arrogance was the only thing she hated about him. She could be okay with herself for overlooking just one thing. But it wasn't just one thing that she hated. It was everything.

She hated the way he swaggered when he walked. The man never just walked. He always moved with a roll to his hips and a sensual, tempting gait that just made her shiver from her toes up.

She hated his voice, especially when he leaned close to her and let the low timbre of it purr along her earlobe as he said things to her that she would never allow anyone else to say.

She hated his eyes, the way they slid over every inch of her every time he saw her. Like he was taking her into his soul, committing every last detail of her body to his memory. He made it feel as if it were an image he intended to masturbate to later. And she knew if she had the courage to ask him whether that was what he was doing, he would tell her, completely bluntly and honestly, that it was exactly what he was doing. Then he would give her that famous, no infamous, wolfish grin and tell her that if she had any material she would like him to add, he would be willingly to let her.

She hated the softness of his black hair when her fingers slid through it. She hated the brush of his breath against her cheek, the weight of his hand on the small of her back, the warmth and wetness of his lips as they assaulted hers, the feel of his fingertips gliding over every inch of her skin that he could reach.

She hated all those things. She hated them with an unreasonable passion.

And she was certain it was her hatred of him that caused her stomach to tighten and flop like it did when he finally untangled himself from the blond and began moving towards her again.

She hated the worldliness that seemed to flow from him, that spark about him that told the world he had been there and done that. That smugness that said he had all the experience in the world and he was willing to share his expertise any time she liked.

She hated his complete lack of moral fiber. The man had no scruples, no limits. He was ruthless and unyielding and he would get his way, no matter what he had to do to accomplish that. He was certainly a man that did no get told 'no' often.

He was a brat. A spoiled rotten, arrogant, smug, swaggering, egotistical brat.

And she knew, even while her stomach flipped again as his voice slid over her skin and he reached her, offering her one of the glasses, she knew that she loved him.

What in God's name had he done to her ?

It was like she was under some kind of spell. This was not like her. It wasn't who she was. And it was his fault. He did this to her. She hated him mostly because, he made her hate herself.

She hated herself for wanting him, for needing to hear him whispering such vile, disgusting things in her ear in the middle of a charity auction., while her mother sat at her side. She hated that even in the middle of a party she was hosting, she would willingly sneak off upstairs with him the moment he suggested they should.

She was not supposed to be attracted to him. She was supposed to be disgusted. She was supposed to loathe him.

He didn't just possess every single quality she hated in a man, he flaunted them all, wearing them proudly and never, ever hiding who he really was.

The one thing about the man that she could respect was his honestly. He was exactly the same person from the first time you met him until the moment you realized you hated him. He never changed, never put on airs of any kind. He was exactly who he was, all the time.

She however, prided herself on the her ability to shift and blend into any crowd, any situation. It was her gift, that chameleon like ability to be perfectly suited to any situation she found herself in. Chuck, on the other hand, made every situation suit him instead. He didn't blend, he didn't change himself to fit in. He changed the world around him to suit himself. That was his gift.

His eyes raked over her brazenly and she suddenly felt as if she were wearing far too little clothing. He made her feel indecent with his gaze.

Her hand self consciously came up to her neckline and she played with the black lace that covered her chest.

" What do you want, Bass ?" She asked, managing to keep the edge to her voice that she wanted there.

He leaned into her and let his breath brush across her neck as he whispered, " You, of course. Always you."

" I'm not on the menu." She answered sarcastically.

" Oh, you're always on my menu." He countered, handing her one of his champagne flutes and taking a long drink from the other one.

" I'm not leaving." She told him firmly, trying to dissolve any illusions he might have to the contrary.

" I didn't ask you to leave." He purred as he continued to eye her with a devilish glint in his eyes.

" Not yet." She said as she took a drink from her own glass. The liquid bubbled and burned as it slid down her throat and she swallowed hard instead of making a face.

He chuckled low in his throat and leaned in again. " You know me so well."

" Yes, I do." She nodded. " And I'm telling you it isn't going to happen this time. So give it up."

He reached his hand up to her collarbone and brushed a spray of chocolate brown curls over her shoulder. Then he inhaled deeply, taking in the bouquet of floral scents he had released upon shifting her hair. " Why must we do this every time, Blair ? Don't you think this dance is becoming a bit tiring ? We both know you're going to leave here with me. Why do you insist on putting us through this every single time ?"

Her hands instantly moved to her hips and she stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. " That is not true. I am not leaving here with you tonight. I'm going to stay here and help my mother, just like I'm supposed to."

He laughed again and it sent a shuddered all the way through her. " Just like you're supposed to ?" He raised his eyebrow at her and narrowed his eyes. " What are you, a trained poodle ?"

She wanted to slap him and she would have if they hadn't been in a crowded room of onlookers. His words stung just like he had intended. And, as if on his cue, the jealousy she had always felt towards Serena flared to life. Serena, her best friend, who somehow always managed to remain as free and unburdened by life as she wanted to be. She envied that freedom.

Blair wasn't allowed that sort of freedom. She didn't, couldn't allow herself to indulge in the sort of wild abandon Serena had always enjoyed. Blair was the good one, the perfect one, the one who always did exactly what she was supposed to do.

She excepted that role, knew it was her place in their small, intimate circle and carried the title proudly most of the time.

The only time she slipped was when Chuck was around. But then again, he was the only one in the world that knew precisely how much Blair envied Serena her freedom.

That's what Chuck gave her. That was his power over her. He offered her the opportunity to be as carefree and reckless as she wanted to be, all with the knowledge that she was safe with him. She trusted him. He would never do anything to hurt her, or let her do anything to hurt herself. He offered her a chance to indulge herself without the consequences that went along with taking chances.

And that was why she loved him.

" Alright." She sighed, dropping her hands to her sides. " You win. I'm too tired to play with you tonight. Are you happy now ?"

He smiled knowingly. " Not yet, but I believe that I will be before much longer."

She huffed at the smugness of his reply and folded her arms under her breasts. " Why must you always be so insufferable ?"

" I'm not always insufferable." He lowered his voice and leaned in again, this time holding her closely to his side as he slid his arm around her waist. " I seem to remember the last time we were together, suffering was the furthest thing from your mind."

" Chuck," She began in a reprimanding voice, but the words fell away as he placed a light kiss to the bare skin of her shoulder. Then his mouth moved to the junction of her neck and she found herself tilting her head to allow him better access.

" What ?" He whispered across her skin.

" What ?" She asked, confused, wondering why he was trying to talk to her right then when she had much better uses for his lips and tongue.

" You said my name." He explained.

" Did I ?"

He laced the fingers of his hand through hers and raised her arm to examine her skin, holding it out in front of her so she could see it as well. " It appears that despite the heat in here, you're getting chilled."

She looked at her arm and tried to jerk it back when she saw the goosebumps raised over her flesh. "I'm not cold." She muttered, when he held her hand steady.

" Then what could possibly be causing that reaction ?"

Again, his arrogance irritated her and she did the only thing she could think of to take at least some of it away. She jabbed her elbow backwards, burying it in his stomach, not hard enough to actually hurt, but enough to make him drop her hand.

" Can we just go ?" She said, turning to him to give him her full stare.

He rested his hand over his stomach protectively. " Are we planning on playing rough tonight ? I wasn't aware. Maybe I should have brought protective clothing." He was smiling so widely it did nothing but add to her ire.

" Get me out of here, or I'll hit you again." She ground out between her teeth.

He didn't say anything else, instead, he took her elbow and guided her through the crowd that surrounded them. She cast a last look over her shoulder, catching her mother's eyes and seeing her watching Blair leave.

They were silent until they were safely encroached in the back of his limo. THE limo, the one that brought back every memory of the night she spent in his arms as her bare skin slid over the buttery-leather upholstery.

" Where are we going ?" She asked as they pulled away from the curb.

" My place, but I thought tonight we might try something a little different." He moved to her and pulled her into his arms tightly, almost bruisingly. " Are you game ?"

Anything, she wanted to tell him. When he was that close, with that look in his eyes, the look of promise of such wonderful things to come, she would say yes to anything. But there was no way she would ever let him know that.

She could never let him see how completely her insides melted when he looked at her with eyes that said he wanted to eat her alive. She could never tell him how simply being in the room with him made her feel so brave and alive she entire body hummed with the power of it. She could never, never admit to him that she would offer him anything, promise him anything when his body was pressed so closely to hers. She could never let on how drunk she became off the power of feeling him totally lose control over something as simple as the feel of her body surrounding him.

No, all that was far more than he needed to know. She didn't trust him that much. She could never allow him to have that much power over her.

" I don't know." she answered with more confidence than she felt. " What do you have in mind ?"

" It's a surprise." His breath stirred the soft hairs on the back of her neck as he held her chocolate curls up and away so he could reach her skin with his lips. " Do you trust me ?"

Did she trust him ? Trust Chuck Bass ? She had to be insane. Completely out of her mind. If there was one man in the world that couldn't be trusted, it was Chuck frigging Bass.

And he knew that. He didn't just know it, he prided himself on it. It was his hook, that touch of danger that always surrounded him. It was his peacock feathers, the thing about him that made him stand out in a crowd. He was dangerous and powerful and uninhibited. And he made absolutely no apologizes for it.

" Of course I don't trust you. Are you serious ?" She told him, pulling back from him enough to check her breath.

He chuckled, low and deep in his chest, the sound a rumble of pure sex emanating from his lips. "Good. You shouldn't trust me."

" Well then, we're agreed." She smirked. " Now tell me about this surprise, since I don't trust you."

He sat back against the seat and regarded her carefully, obviously trying to judge her reaction before he explained the details of his plans. She held her face tightly masked, giving nothing away.

" I think we'll wait until we get to my place. It's better that way." He said finally.

" Are you afraid to tell me about your new game, afraid I'll turn around and run the other direction ?"

He laughed. " Yes, actually I am."

" If you don't think its something I'll like, why are you trying to make me do it ?" She asked, suddenly apprehensive.

His hand slid slowly up her arm, stopping at her collarbone, he let his lips make the same trail a moment later. " It is something that you'll like, I'm just not sure you know it yet. And it's definitely something that you need."

She raised her eyebrow and closed her suddenly slacken lips as she tried to ignore the feel of his tongue playing against her throat. " Chuck, you have no idea what I need."

He raised his head and stared straight into her eyes. " No, Blair, that's not true at all. I always know exactly what you need. And more importantly, I'm the one person in the world that can always give it to you."

She grabbed him and kissed him furiously, telling him without words that he was completely and totally right.


	2. The Power of Her

Chuck had seen a lot of beautiful women in his time. He had seen every inch of them. But, for the life of him, in that moment, he could not recall even one of them coming anywhere near the perfection that was Blair Wardolf.

She lay across his bed, brown hair flowing around her shoulders like a curtain of glimmering chocolate silk, her skin smooth and unblemished as it glowed with its own inner luminescence, lit only by the dim light from the fireplace. Her lips, glistening with moisture and slightly swollen from his kisses, were so full and plump and exquisite, barely parted as they waited in anticipation for the return of his mouth. Her breasts were generously sized, alabaster globes that rose and fell with the elevated breath that hitched in her chest every time she heard him move.

He couldn't contain his smile as he watched her, trying to wager on how long she would last before she called out to him.

He hadn't said a word to her, not touched her at all since tying the blindfold around her eyes and securing her long, lovely arms over her head with a scarf attached to his headboard.

He took her in as she fought against her urge to squirm and he knew what this new situation was probably doing to her.

Blair was not a woman that liked not being in charge of her surroundings. Her amazing control was one of the things that she held so very dear to her. It was one of the things he loved about her.

And yes, he had to admit it, at least to himself, even if he couldn't tell her, he loved her. He loved every inch of her, every fiber that made her who she was. She liked to pretend that he didn't know her as well as he thought he did. But they both knew it wasn't true. He knew her better than he knew himself sometimes.

He knew everything little detail about her. He knew all her dreams and her desires. And he knew that he loved her, because a part of him, a part that was growing larger everyday, wanted to make all her dreams and desires come to life.

It was a part of him, in fact, that was beginning to take over his life.

Not many people challenged him. He was smart, smarter than most actually, and shrewd. That was a quality that he had learned from the best.

Bart Bass had made him the man he was. He knew that. He understood that with perfect clarity and he was beginning to understand why he had done it. His father had sought to prepare him, in the best way he knew how, for the life that would ultimately be Chuck's.

But Blair, his smile turned whimsical. His father had never prepared him for a woman like Blair. He had never taught him how to deal with a woman that made him want to be better than the man he was taught to be.

Maybe it was because Bart Bass had never had a woman like Blair in his life. Had never had a force in his life that made him want to be more, to be better, to be something that deserved the kind of love she had to offer him.

But that was exactly what Blair did to him. She confused him, unsettled him, made him question everything about himself and the way he was.

She turned his arrogance into uncertainty. She took away his pride and confidence and replaced it with something less than dignified and absolutely nowhere near confident.

At times, like this one in particular, she turned him into a bumbling idiot who suddenly didn't know just what to say, just what to do. She unnerved him and turned his perception of the world completely on end.

The moment she walked into the room, he was out of control and everything around him faded besides her.

She was dangerous to his well being. Made him unable to think, unable to be Chuck Bass. When she was in his vision, he found himself no longer wanting to be the cold, calculating, arrogant son-of-a-bitch that everyone expected him to be.

He was becoming addicted to her. Her heat was her power. The only woman in the world hot enough to thaw his coldness. The warmth of her smile, when it was real and genuine, was enough to turn him to a puddle of water at her feet.

He was Frosty the fucking Snowman in the Sahara Desert around her.

The thought made him unconsciously chuckle and she turned her head, trying to ascertain exactly where he was.

He wasn't sure he liked his new game after all. He knew she needed it and it was something he could give to her. A chance to be completely and utterly out of control. But the lack of her startlingly, blazingly beautiful eyes was throwing him off his game.

He wanted to watch her watching him. He could almost see the unsureness of the situation in their brown fire. But under that unsureness, there would be trust and love. A love touched with a purity and devotion that he knew he absolutely did not deserve.

She told him she didn't trust him, but he knew it was a lie. She trusted him like no one else ever had. Her position on his bed proved that.

What he couldn't, would never, understand was why. He had certainly given her no reason to trust him. He couldn't count the number of times he had hurt her. Used words that he didn't mean against her as if he were brandishing a knife.

And yet, somehow, she understood. Somehow she know that the hurtful jibs and insults weren't real. Knew it was just him trying his best to keep her at arms length.

Or maybe there was another reason he hurt her. His eyes narrowed as he considered that possibility. Perhaps he was testing her, unconsciously, of course, but testing, all the same. His heart working on its own to ensure that she knew the asshole that he was and wasn't going to tire of him and take off running in the opposite directions.

It was an absurd thought when it came right down to it.

Blair was the one person in the world that knew him, knew what he was capable of, knew all about his ruthlessness and cruelty. And she also knew that deep down it was a perfect match to her own.

Because there was no question that Blair could be just as cruel and cold as he was. The difference was the warmth that lay under all those layer in her. The warmth that he didn't possess. It was that warmth that let her know when her inner urge to hurt was cutting too deep, doing too much damage.

Blair had a conscious. She hid it well most of the time. But it was there. And the worst part was that it was rubbing off on him.

That was her power over him. She was the voice in his head that said he was going too far, his line in the sand.

He took a deep breath and watched her wiggle against her bindings as she tried again to search him out with just her ears to guide her.

" Chuck," She whispered finally. "Where are you ?"

He draped his jacket over a chair and sauntered over to the bed. Sinking down beside her, he let his breath brush against her cheek as he whispered, " I'm right here."

" Where did you go ? Why haven't you said anything ?" She asked.

" I"m sorry. I got a little lost." He answered as he guided his hand over her thigh slowly.

" Lost ? In your own house ?" She smiled.

" No," He breathed with his lips against hers. " I was lost in you."

Her entire body shuddered under his hand at hearing his words. And she raised her head, seeking to capture his lips.

" No, no." He chided as he moved away. " You don't get to make the decisions tonight. All you get to do is lay there and feel."

She shuddered again, but didn't attempt to move any more. " I don't think I like this game, Chuck." She whispered.

His fingertip moved over her thigh, across the curve of her hip and up to her navel. He circled it languidly, before continuing in a straight line up the middle of her chest, over her neck, across her chin, not stopping until he reached her lips. Once there, he traced their outline carefully, before slipping it into the wetness of her mouth. " Why not ? You aren't scared of me, are you ?"

She sucked on his finger for a moment, before he removed it and made the trail back down her body again. " Of course not." She answered with a shaky voice.

" Maybe you should be afraid of me." He told her. " God knows, I've hurt you before."

" But not like this." She said, quickly, dispelling the self-loathing in his tone. "Never here, like this."

" You grant me too much forgiveness." He answered as his lips dipped down to rake across her shoulder.

" That's ridiculous."

He shook his head, before nipping at her collarbone. " No, it isn't. No one else on Earth could ever forgive me the things you have."

She raised up this time, pushing against him with her chest. " Are you saying you think I should hate and walk away ?"

He laughed and pushed her back to the bed with a gentle hand on her shoulder. " I'm saying anyone else would."

" You say you know me better than I know myself. Do you think that only goes one way ? I've known you all your life." She told him, somehow facing him directly despite the blindfold.

Suddenly, he needed to see her eyes. Needed to watch the fire dance in her gaze. He reached up with one hand and yanked the scarf away from her eyes.

She blinked rapidly for a few seconds, before continuing on as if nothing had happened. " I know who you are, too. I know everything about. I can tell you exactly why you do the things you do even when you can't."

" What does that mean ?" He asked, sitting back from her slightly as he reveled in the feel of her eyes on him.

" It means that I know you never purposely hurt me. When you push me away, lash out at me, annoying me just by being you, I know it isn't me you're talking too. Not really."

He stared at her for what seemed like forever, searching for some insight, some truth in her words. When he found it there, deep down inside himself, he was surprise. He hadn't expected it at all.

" My, Ms. Wardolf," He ran the back of his curved fingers down her smooth cheek and gave her a half-hearted smile. " You are more insightful than anyone would have guessed."

She returned his smile, only hers was smug and self-satisfactory. " I know. Sometimes I amaze even myself."

He leaned closer and finally let his lips brush against hers. " You amaze me all the time."

" Chuck," She whispered into his hair as he turned his head and began to nibble at her neck.

" Hmm," he answered, not bothering to look up at her as he continued to taste her.

She tugged against the bindings still around her wrist. " Let me go."

He did look up then with a quizzical expression on his face. " I thought you said you weren't afraid of me."

" I'm not afraid of you. I trust you." She struggled again as he dropped his head back to her chest and trailed his tongue over the skin between her breast.

" Then why do you want me to let you go ?" He asked, quietly.

" Because, I want to touch you." She admitted with another tug at the scarf.

" No," He said finally after a long moment of silence. " This isn't about what you want." He took one of her nipples into his mouth and rolled his tongue around it, causing her to groan and arch her back into him. " It about what you need."

" And," She panted. " What is it that you think I need so badly ?"

He moved to the other breasts and captured its nipple in the same way. Then he nipped gently, bringing a gasp out of her. " To not be in control." He told her, letting his breath gaze her hardened pebble. " To have absolutely no control, in fact. What you need is to relax and let me be in control for a while."

She shuddered again and he could see from the look in her eyes how much the thought of that appealed to her. Lowering her head back to the pillow, she took a deep breath and stilled under his exploring hands.

She let go and it amazed him. Shocked him even. He hadn't expected her to accept her position so easily. Didn't think she really trusted him as much as she proclaimed to.

He raised up, taking in her eyes as they followed his every move. Then he slowly kissed around the sash on her wrist, all the way down to her shoulder before gliding over her collarbone and taking the same trip with her other arm.

His hand moved over the bed, finally finding the discarded blindfold, he grabbed it and carefully slid it back into place over her eyes.

Once it was secure again, he went back to her nipples, devouring each of them as if they tasted of the most perfectly blended Scotch.

Her back arched again, but she still made no other move to struggle. His lips turned up in a smile as he moved off the bed.

" You aren't leaving me again, are you ?" She asked quietly at feeling him pull away.

" No," He whispered as he went to work on the buttons of his shirt. " I'm just getting more comfortable."

Apparently she heard the shifting of the material of his shirt as he slid it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. " If you let me go, I could help you with that."

He chuckled. " I've got it. I've been dressing and more importantly, undressing myself for quite a while now."

She slid one of her long, perfect legs along the length of the other tantalizingly. " But I do it so much better than you."

" I agree. You do." He smiled. " Next time, I promise."

" You are always so sure there is going to be a next time. You know, one of these nights, I'm not going to leave with you." She announced.

He hovered over the bed for a moment, looking down at her in completely disbelief. She was right. One of these night she would have enough of him and he would lose her forever. The thought sobered him completely and he fought against the urge to wail in protest.

What the fuck had she done to him ? What pathetic creature had she turned him into ? Something so small and meaningless as a stupid, off handed, empty threat from her turned him into a puddle of emotional goo.

Dan Humphrey wasn't even this pitiful.

" I didn't mean it." She breathed at sensing his hesitation. " You know I didn't mean it."

He sat beside her like a heavy weight was on his shoulders. " This is not going to way I expected it to go." He sighed.

" Seems like things between us never go the way we expect them to go." She answered knowingly.

He agreed. Nothing ever went as planned when they were together. Or at least that was how it seemed. They had been doing this... thing, whatever it was for almost three months now. They kept it between themselves. It wasn't public knowledge. In fact, he was pretty sure that Serena, Dan and Nate were the only ones that knew about their secret intimate rendezvous. Knowing they couldn't possibly be together in the normal sense of the word, yet unable to stay away from each other, they had worked out the unspoken arrangement between them. They kept it casual, all with the understanding that it wasn't supposed to mean anything. They filled a need in each other through these encounters. That was all. It wasn't supposed to be more than that.

But it was and they both knew it. It was so much more that it was becoming harder and harder to pretend anything else as the months went on. They loved each other. Couldn't stand to be away from each other for very long. Needed to be together, more than they needed anything else.

As far as Chuck was concerned, the whole thing was getting way too far out of hand. He needed to put a stop to it before they reached a point of no return.

But looking down at her, searching her face and hearing her telling him that one day she wouldn't' be there for him, he knew. He knew they had come to that point long ago and the thought scared him to death.

Chuck was not a man that relied on others. He had learned long ago that the only person you could really rely on was yourself.

Then Blair happened and once again, his childish notions were tossed into the air and trampled on. He could rely on her. All he had to do was tell her how he felt about her, how he really felt and there would be no getting rid of her.

Hell, he wasn't even sure anymore what was stopping him. Was it the fact that he had never spoken those particular words out loud to another soul in his entire life ? That seemed silly. He was sure he had never spoken a lot of words out loud before. There were, after all, so many in the English language. He surely, hadn't gotten around to all of them yet. What was it about that magical combination of letters and sounds that terrified him so utterly ?

Was it the meaning behind them ? No, that couldn't be it. He certainly felt it. He felt it every time he looked at her. His chest was so overcome with emotions when he looked into her eyes that it felt as if he were drowning in them.

So what was the harm in telling her that ? What could be so wrong with letting her know the effect she had on him ? How much she meant to him. How much power she really had over him.

Ah, he thought as the answered came into his head. He lowered himself to the bed and let his hand brush over her flat, toned stomach.

That was it in a nutshell. Neatly wrapped up and presented to him with a huge 'Duh' attached to the bow. She had too much power over him and he didn't trust her enough to let her know it.

But how could he not trust her ? Had she ever done anything to him to show him that she couldn't be trusted ?

No, that was his part to play. Constantly he pushed her just to see how far he could go and still hold on to her. So many times he felt as if, finally, Finally he had gone too far. But she forgave him and granted him the gift of allowing him to touch her once again.

And it was a gift. He knew that with certainty. But nearly as magical a gift as the one she gave him every time she looked at him with those eyes that said she loved him with everything inside her. Eyes that said she would never, ever leave him, never abandon him. Eyes that proclaimed her dedication and loyalty to him far more than any words could come close to saying.

She was his. Always would be. She told him that every time he looked down at her, with her legs secured around his waist and his body completely encased in her and her hair falling around her shoulders like a beautiful halo. The way her small, delicate hands clung to his shoulders. The way her lips quivered as such enormously exquisite words tumbled from them. Every touch, every sound, every whisper, all told him that she loved him.

He wondered if she saw the same thing looking back at her. Did she know ? She had just proven how incredibly insightful she was. Aware of things he wasn't even aware of about himself. She was past all his walls and pretenses. She saw the best and worst of him and yet here she was, struggling against the scarf so that she could touch him.

Not get away, but hold him tighter.

What the fuck had she done to him ? More importantly, what the fuck had he ever done to deserve her?


	3. The power of Anger

She wasn't sure how long he would be so still and content, but she was almost afraid to move. Afraid if she even shifted it would all be over and he would be up and trying to figure out the best way to get her out of his bedroom. That's why they usually went to her place. She knew it. It was so that he had an easy exit stragedy in place.

They had been like that for hours now. She wasn't sure he was even awake any longer, though she knew he had been for a while at least. She could hear the steady beat of his heart as it pumped away right under her ear. Her head on his chest, one of her legs draped over his and her hand clutching at his opposite shoulder, she felt decidedly peaceful and move comfortable than she had ever felt before.

His arm tightened subtly around her shoulder where it had been resting all night and the other hand flexed at his side.

He wasn't sleeping after all. He was awake, staring up at the ceiling and not saying anything. That worried her. She hated not knowing what he was thinking. When Chuck got quiet it never ended well.

Her hand drifted down from his shoulder to the middle of his chest and in an extraordinarily surprising move, he raised his free hand and covered it. His fingers intertwined with hers and she stared at their hands, laying together in the center of his chest as if they belonged to a pair of aliens.

She had no idea how to interrupt the gesture. It wasn't like him, in fact, it was so completely not like him that she wondered again if he really was sleeping.

Unconscious, she could understand. But Chuck purposely holding her hand so tenderly, so lovingly, no, that baffled.

Taking a deep breath, she chanced a glance at his face and found his eyes wide open, like she predicted, staring up at the bare, white ceiling as if it possessed the answers to every question in the universe.

" If it bothers you that much, I can let it go." He whispered, breaking the silence that had settled between them hours before.

" No," she shook her head sending her hair over his shoulder. " Please don't."

" Then why are you staring at me like I just grew a second head ?" He asked, shifting so he could see her face, but not letting go of her hand.

" It's nothing, I didn't realize I was staring actually. Sorry." She muttered, turning her eyes from his.

" Blair," His voice was barely audible and she shot her gaze back to his face. " What is it ?"

" You...." She trailed off, searching for the words that wouldn't scare him away. " You seem very different tonight."

" Do I ?"

" Yes. You have all night."

" I'm sorry. I guess I'm not in a very playful mood." He answered, dropping her stare and letting his eyes find a place on the wall behind her.

" It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I was just worried that there might be something wrong."

He pulled her closer suddenly and snuggle more deeply into her body. " No, nothing is wrong. Everything is just fine."

" Fine ? " She questioned.

" Hmm." he moaned as he took a deep breath of her hair.

" Chuck ?" He didn't answer, instead taking her in even deeper. This was getting ridiculous. It was bordering on nearly romantic, laying in the glow of the firelight, so deeply entwined with him that she wasn't sure which arm or leg belonged to whom anymore.

He wasn't pushing her away or trying to move to the opposite side of the bed. He wasn't making degrading comments or trying to grind himself against her.

He was just holding her. Holding her so tightly she could barely breath, clinging to her almost desperately. It wasn't about sex, that need had already been met for both of them. This was a need that went so, so very much deeper.

And it was so much not like them, it scared her. They weren't romantic, cuddly people. Well, she was. But he certainly wasn't and she respected that, the kind of intimacy they were currently enjoying wasn't part of their agreement. She hated that is wasn't, be it was a fact that she had learned to deal with.

Now here he was, breaking all the rules in true Chuck Bass fashion.

Was he playing another game with her ? Was this a test to see how far he could go once again ? If it was, this new tactic was low even for him.

To give her more, give her what she really wanted from him and then jerk away, that would be the line she couldn't let him cross. And she thought he knew her well enough to understand that.

Please God, she prayed, no longer sure anyone was still listening, please don't let this be some kind of trick.

He suddenly held her tighter and let his fingers play through her hair. " I'm not playing games." He whispered into the silence again. " I don't have an agenda. I just felt like holding you."

She was stunned by his apparent talent for mind-reading. But she recovered quickly. " You can't blame me for wondering. I'm really confused here. This isn't like you."

Then his possible reasoning came to her, a revelation blazing brightly in front of her face. Her hand involuntarily clutched his shoulder tighter. " Don't do this, Bass." she whispered pleadingly.

He chuckled. " I hate that you know me so well."

" I do know you and I know what you're thinking." She pulled away from him. " This arrangement is working out just fine for both of us. Don't even think about ending it."

He let her go and she suddenly felt very cold. " Is it ?" He asked, sitting up and turning towards her. " I know you want more. I know you need more from me. And I can't give it to you. How is that working just fine ?"

She sat up as well and grabbed the silken red sheet to her chest, feeling very exposed all of a sudden.

" I'm not complaining. That's how it's working. And I didn't think you were either."

He glanced away, then back to her. " Maybe I am."

" What ?" She was shocked. How could he be complaining ? He had been the one to set up this little agreement. It was his idea. She had just approved it and gone along for the ride, grateful to have any piece of him, no matter how small. Now he was the one complaining.

" I don't think I want to do this anymore." He stood up and grabbed his pants from the floor, sliding them over his lean hips quickly. " It's becoming complicated."

" How ?" She demanded. " How is it complicated ? It seems to me that you are getting everything you wanted out of this."

" But you aren't." He told her. " And that is becoming more and more apparent with every passing second we spend together."

" That isn't true. I'm getting what I want, too." She argued, refusing to let the tears flow down her cheeks.

" Really ?" He questioned, coming to stand in front of her. " Tell me you don't want to spend every night like we just did. Tell me you don't want this to become some movie romance where I proclaim my undying love for you on the rooftop of some stupid building. Tell me that you are okay without your happily ever after."

Her eyes were blazing as she glared at him, watching as his nostriles flared in anger. " Okay. I admit that much. I do want more. Now how about you admit the real reason you don't want to do this anymore ? How about you be honest and just man-up for once in your life ?" She was nearly shouting as she snatched the sheet around her tighter and got up to start collecting her clothing.

" Man-up ? What the hell are you talking about ?" The volume of his voice matched hers as he started dressing as well.

" The real reason you don't want to do this anymore is because you want nothing more than to spend every night like we just did, too. You won't say it, but that's okay, because I know. You are in this way too deep and your running scared just like you always do."

She was nearly dressed now, save for her bra and panties which she was stashing away in her purse forcefully. She scanned the floor for her shoe as she heard him huff.

" I was just thinking of you. I was trying to let you go so maybe, just maybe you could find what it is you really need." He spat.

" Oh, " She was still shouting as she slid the shoe onto her foot harshly. " You were just thinking of me and what I need. Once again, you think you know what I need better than I do. Maybe, just maybe, I have everything I need right here. Did you think about that while you were so deeply contemplating me ?"

He sank down onto the bed and sighed. " I can't be what you need." His voice was quite now. " I can never be that guy."

" What guy ?" She asked, perching on the edge of the chair beside the bed.

" The romantic hero on the white horse." he muttered distastefully. " Don't you get it ? I'm broken, damaged. You deserve so much better than me." He ran his hand through his hair roughly. " I just keep thinking that if I hadn't interfered like I did, you and Nate would be halfway to the alter by now."

" Nate ?!" She jumped from the chair. " What the hell does Nate have to do with this ?"

" You loved him." He answered. " You were right for each other. If I hadn't ruined everything you'd still be together."

" You think I would have just forgiven him for sleeping with my best friend like he did ? You didn't ruin my relationship with Nate. Nate did." She told him matter-of-factly with her hands on her hips.

" You wouldn't have forgiven him ?" He asked, looking up at her and finally meeting her eyes.

" Of course not." She assured him, thinking she was making some sort of progress with him.

He chuckled and it unnerved her. " And yet, I have lied to you, cheated on you, treated you like a common whore at times. I've tried to hurt you over and over and you know very well I've succeeded more than once. Yet you wouldn't have forgiven Nate one little drunken indiscretion ?"

She moved closer to him and came down so that she was on the same level with him. Her eyes found his and she held them. " No, I wouldn't have ever forgiven him. I still haven't really forgiven him. Yet, you, I can forgive almost anything. Why don't you think about what that really means ? Think about what you're really throwing away here."

Then she stood and stalked out of his room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Fuck ! He thought as he watched her slamming the door. He hadn't meant to make her mad. He just wanted her to be free. To be able to move on. He knew as long as he held onto her like he did, there was no way she could ever find someone that could love her the right way.

He flexed his aching hands and realized he was clutching them into tight fists. He wanted to punch something, to hurt something, to cause damage.

Chuck wasn't an outwardly aggressive man. He didn't normally go around looking for offending walls to put his fists through. Only she could inspire that kind of fury in him, only she could bring out that side of him.

Swearing under his breath, he snatched away from the bed and grabbed his shirt. Slinging his arms through the selves, he took off after her. He couldn't let her leave like that.

He met a pair of narrowed blue eyes as soon as he opened the door and he stepped back in shock.

" Are you okay ?" Lily asked, " I heard shouting."

" It's okay, Mom." Serena said from across the hall. " It's just their way. You'll have to get used to it."

" I didn't mean to wake everyone up." He told them. " I'm sorry. I guess things just got a little out of hand."

" I guess they did." Lily crossed her arms over her chest." Charles, I've already told you once that I will not allow you to bring random women to my home like this."

" It wasn't a random woman, Mom." Serena answered for him. " God, how can you not know that raised voice after all these years ? It was Blair."

Chuck glared at her.

"You're seeing Blair ?" Lily asked, raising her perfectly sculpted eyebrows at him. " When did this start ?"

" I'm not really seeing her. But if you don't mind, could we have this discussion later. I really need to catch up with her." He ground out between his teeth as he stared back and forth at the two women who had become his adopted family.

" You don't have to catch her." Serena mumbled sleepily.

" Yes, I do." He spat, trying to hold on to his temper.

She stepped out of her doorway and held the door opened for him to see inside.

" S !" Blair squeaked from inside.

Serena huffed and put her hands on her hips. " B, it's five in the morning. I'm tired and I don't feel like being caught in the middle of the two of you tonight. Please."

Blair stood from the bed and slowly made her way to the door. " Then I'll just go home." She announced with her head held high and purse clutched in her hand.

" Can we just go back to my room and talk ?" Chuck asked, harshly. " I don't want you to leave like this."

" Like what, Chuck ? How would you prefer I leave, because we all know that you do actually want me to leave." She answered angrily.

" I don't want you to leave." He told her quietly.

Just then, the third door in the hallway opened and Eric stuck his blond head out to look around. "What's going on ?" He asked as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

" Nothing !" Chuck and Blair hissed out in unison.

" Just go back to bed. It's okay. Charles and Blair are just having a little disagreement." Lily told him.

" Oh, then I guess we're lucky the place is still standing." He muttered as he shut his door once again.

" Blair, of course, you are more than welcome to stay. But if you like, I'll have the driver bring the car around to take you home." Lily announced, taking control of the situation. " I think maybe that would be for the best. Perhaps once you've both cooled off, you can talk this out."

Chuck's eyes flared at his stepmother and he reached out to grab Blair's hand. " I'll take her home, if that's what she wants."

" I'm really sorry to have disrupted the entire house. I didn't mean to bother everyone." Blair said quietly as she jerked her hand from Chuck's. " I can get home on my own though. Thank you."

Chuck grabbed her hand again and held it tighter this time. " I brought you here. I'll see you home as well."

" I don't want you to see me home, Chuck. Don't you understand ? You win. You get exactly what you wanted, as usual. I'm done with this whole thing." Then she snatched her hand out of his once again and turned away.

He stepped up behind her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder. " This isn't what I want."

" You expected me to happily flounce off into the sunset at your request. To just fade away and act like none of this ever happened, like we never happened ?" She was crying now, he could hear the tears in her voice.

" I don't want you to flounce anywhere." He looked around at Lily and Serena still watching them as if they were their favorite soap opera. He couldn't do this here, not in front of his entire family. This was too much. " Can we please just go back inside and talk about this ?"

He watched her shoulders rise as she took a deep breath and he steeled himself, knowing that whatever she was planning, whether verbal or physical, it was going to hurt. Then she spun on him.

" I don't want to talk to you anymore. I don't want to see you anymore. I hate you. You are absolutely right, you are damaged and I do deserve better. Now leave me alone and stay out of my life."

Then she turned her back to him and made her way quickly down the hall.

" God, Chuck. " Serena muttered as she watched her best friend go. " What did you do to her this time?"


	4. The Power of Nothing

Sometimes, like right at the moment, Chuck was very thankful that he lived in a penthouse. It made storming out a tad inconvenient since you had to wait on the elevator to make your dramatic exit.

He hadn't heard the doors open yet, so he knew she was still standing there, fuming away and tapping her foot in front of its doors.

When he finally untangled himself from the two other women in his life, that was exactly how he found her.

He silently watched from the hall as she quickly batted at the wetness on her cheeks with the back of her hand at hearing his footsteps on the highly polished floor. Even barefoot, they resounded loudly.

" Please don't go." He said as he stepped to her.

" Leave me alone !" She ground out between her clenched teeth. " Haven't we already made enough of a scene ?"

He laid a tentative hand on her shoulder and she jerked away from him in response. " Blair, this is crazy."

She spun towards him so quickly it surprised him but the look in her eyes said another hurtful onslaught was imminent and he braced himself. Whatever she had to say to him, he deserved.

" What is crazy is that you are throwing all this away. You keep pushing me and pushing me. I can't be your therapist any longer. Whatever abandonment issues you have, you need to deal with on your own. I've done the best I could to help you, but I guess I've failed."

Whatever he was expecting her to say, it wasn't that. Yet he managed to keep the shock from his face.

"I don't have abandonment issues. This isn't about me. Its about you and your need to play the damsel in some movie. I can't play the part you've cast me in, Blair. You need to find a better actor to fit this role."

" A better actor ? So you're saying that all this time, all the time we've been together, you were just playing a part ? Pretending to want me, pretending to care ?" She choked out, fighting desperately to keep from sobbing again.

He yanked his hand threw his hair and watched as the elevator doors opened. " No, that isn't what I'm saying. I'm saying that its becoming apparent that I can't be who you expect me to be. I'm not boyfriend material. I'm sure as hell not husband material."

" Husband ?!" she shrieked. " Who said anything about you ever being a husband ? No, Chuck, you aren't going to make this about me. I had nothing to do with your decision to end this. This is all about your fear that someday, I will have enough of you and leave. Well, guess what ? You've done it. You've pushed as far as you could push, tested me until I'm broken. Congratulations, you have finally figured out what it would take to make me give up on you."

" And what was that ? What did I do to finally break you ?" He spat contemptuously.

" You couldn't trust me. After all the trust I've given you. Far more than you deserve. You couldn't just trust me when I said I wouldn't leave you."

Then she walked into the elevator and he watched, shell shocked, as the doors began to slide closed.

Her words rang through his mind and he realized she was absolutely right. That was exactly what was holding him back, keeping him from letting himself love her. Everyone left him. His mother, his father, everyone in his life he had ever given a damn about had abandoned him.

He raised his hand a split second before the doors closed completely and managed to slip his fingers inside to stop it at the last possible moment.

She huffed and stomped her tiny foot as the door slid open again.

When he stepped inside, he was silent under the doors closed completely this time and the metal box began to move.

He wanted to tell her she was absolutely right. He wanted to apologize to her and tell her exactly what she meant to him. But somehow the words just wouldn't come out. So he stood there like an idiot with his mouth opened and his hand shoved into his pocket, waiting for the right sounds to make their way to his lips.

For her part, she was standing as far from him as she could get in the tiny enclosure. Her eyes blazed brown fire at him. Her mouth twitched with the need to continue their attack on him. Her hands were planted on her hips and her perfectly sculpted eyebrows were raised expectantly.

Finally she couldn't take his silence any longer. " I assume you had something more to say to me."

" I...." He tried once again. And once again he failed. There was some sort of disconnection between his tongue and his brain. It just wasn't listening to his instructions anymore.

" You what ?" She persisted, not understanding, or perhaps finally not caring, what he was going through.

" I'm sorry. I don't want to end this." He managed, though how he had no idea, since his tongue had grown to the size of his fist suddenly.

She sighed and he glanced at her to see the cause. When he did, his stomach dropped to his toes at the look in her eyes. She looked tired, defeated and empty. All the anger seemed to sap away suddenly and what was left in her face was a nothingness that terrified him.

" It's too late for that now. You're right. I want more. I need more and I guess you really can't be what I need. I'm done. I'm just too tired to keep this up. I feel like I'm fighting against demons way too powerful for me to ever overcome." She admitted and the slump of her shoulders told the story of how much those words had cost her. " I'm just not strong enough to keep it up anymore. My stubbornness alone has been the only thing keeping me holding out this long."

He wanted to grab her. To shake her and make her understand that he didn't want to fight with her any longer either. But he was frozen.

It was that moment when the world went completely and utterly black and the floor beneath their feet jerked sending them into the walls with matching grunts falling from their lips.


	5. The Power of Fear

There was only darkness, the nothingness of all the electronic devises around them instantly stilling, and a helpless feeling of being trapped several stories above the ground with nothing to hold them in the air save for a few cables.

His first thought at regaining his footing was panic. Then everything faded besides her.

" Blair !" His voice resounded off the walls that were far too close together for his comfort.

But the silence that met his voice was even louder and much more horrible.

He tried again. " Blair ! Are you okay ?"

Still his seeking question was met with nothing. That huge nothingness that stretch way beyond the walls.

Then finally, he heard her groan and his senses suddenly flared into life. He needed to find her, to feel her. To make sure she was okay. The darkness was closing in on him, but he fought against the panic. "Blair, where are you ? Are you okay ?"

His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to break free of the tight restraint of his ribcage.

" Blair, Damn it ! Answer me." He demanded, trying to feel his way over to her.

At last, his searching hand found a foot and he followed it up until he was kneeling by her waist.

His fingers brushed up the side of her neck, pausing only briefly to feel her pulse hammering away almost in time with his.

As he reached her lips, they opened and a gush of warm air escaped them. " Chuck," She groaned into the blackness.

" I'm here. Are you okay ?" He moved his hands frantically over her now, searching for injuries, for any mars in her perfection.

" I'm okay." She answered, struggling to a sitting position. He helped her quickly, sliding her until her back was resting against the wall.

" Why didn't you answer me ? God, I thought....." His voice trailed off as images too ghastly to fathom came unbidden to his mind.

" No, I'm fine I think." Her small hand was clutching at him now, her panic adding to his as the events of the last few moments caught up to her. " What happened ? Are you okay ?"

" Yeah," He covered her hand, which was pulling at his shirt, with his own and held to it tightly. " I'm fine. I think we lost power. But we'll be okay."

He sounded much more confident than he felt.

" Have you tried the emergency phone ?" She asked, struggling again, this time to stand.

He held her still with a hand on her shoulder. " Stay still. Let me do it."

She didn't protest or try to fight against him. And he was grateful for that.

He felt his way around the wall until his fingers bumped the control panel. Then he pried it opened and grabbed the receiver inside.

Holding it to his ear, he waited, waited for the voice of their salvation to answer his plea. But nothing came. He heard nothing on the other end.

" What's wrong ?" Blair asked, a touch shrilly. " Did you find the phone ?"

" Yeah," He muttered. " It's dead."

She gave a startled cry and he was back beside her before she could move. " What ? What is it ?"

" My head." she answered, around a sob. " My hair's all wet."

" Wet ?" He was confused, not thinking clearly. Then it occurred to him what the source of the wetness must be and he pulled her into him.

" It's okay, Blair. Someone will be along any minute. They'll have the power back and we can get a look at you head." He told her.

" Chuck, it's really wet." Her voice was terrified and he held her tighter.

Raising his hand slowly, he gingerly touched her hair. He found a wet, sticky mess of tangles that were nearly saturated at the back of her head.

The railing, he thought. She must have hit her head on the damn railing. He determined right then that as soon as they were back on the ground, he would rip it out with his bare hands.

She shifted against him and as she pulled away he felt the blood permeating his shirt, over his shoulder where her head had been.

His rational mind began to take over and he grabbed his shirt off and wadded it into a ball in his hand.

" You need to hold this over the back of you head. Try to stop the bleeding." He explained as he handed her the bundle.

" I can't." She whined. " Don't make me touch it."

He pulled her into him and tucked her tightly into his side. After getting her settled, he placed the shirt over the back of her head and held it steady. She jerked as soon as he started to apply pressure, but he held her firmly.

" Be still. We have to stop the bleeding. You've already lost a lot of blood."

" It's starting to hurt." She cried, her voice muffled by his chest.

" I'm sorry. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to." He told her, not budging his hold.

" I was trying to find my purse when I sat up." She announced, wiggling still.

" I'm sure your precious Prada is fine." He muttered.

She punched his shoulder weakly. " I'm not worried about my bag, you idiot. It's got my cell in it. We need to call for help."

" Lily and Serena know where we are. They've probably already called. Your head is more important right now."

" What do you care about my head ?" She asked, suddenly pouting and trying to pull away again.

" Oh no." He held her tighter. " We aren't doing this right now. You're hurt and we are suspended in a box no bigger than my bed, hovering very far above the ground. That superseded you being pissed at me at the moment. So just shut up and deal with it."

She jerked away this time, slipping out of his grasp. " Shut up ! " She shrieked. " Did you just tell me to shut up !"

" Yes," He hissed. " I did. Do I need to say it louder ?"

" How dare you !" She shouted.

He grabbed for her, yanking her into his chest and pressing his lips to hers to quiet her. " I dare because I care. You need to be still and quiet. Getting angry is only going to cause your pulse and blood pressure to rise and that will make the bleeding worse." He told her when he finally broke free.

" Don't do that." She said, though quieter this time.

" Don't do what ?" He pulled her back to his side and grabbed the shirt again, pressing it back to her wound.

" Don't lie to me."

" What am I lying about now, Blair ?" He asked, exasperated by the fact that she really wanted to continue this argument even under the circumstances.

" Telling me you care. That isn't fair. Just quit." She answered, resigning herself to being held against his chest.

" I do care." He answered quickly. " I'm not lying. Of course I care."

" No, you don't."

It sounded so childish and petty that, if her blood hadn't been soaking his hand and they weren't in such a position, he would have laughed out loud. Instead he brought her eyes up to his with his free hand on her cheek and kissed her gently.

" I do care." He whispered against her cheek when he let her go. " I care more than I want to."

" Why ?" She asked into the darkness. " Why is it so terrible to care about someone ?"

He shifted and realized that if he had to have this conversation, if she really insisted that he say things to her that he didn't want to admit out loud, this is how he wanted to do it. In the dark, where she wouldn't be able to see his face. Wouldn't be able to read how much it cost him to admit his feeling in his eyes.

Leave it to Blair to want to have this conversation now, when they were in imminent danger and definite peril.

" I know I don't say it." He started, his voice shakier than he wanted it to be. " It isn't easy for me. But I thought you knew. I always assumed you knew how I felt about you."

" I don't want to just know. I want to hear it, Bass. It's time. I know I've said it before, but I mean it this time. Just tell me and everything else is unimportant. We can work out the details later." Her voice sounded drowsy and he wondered about that. It wasn't a time when she normally would have been getting sleepy.

" Are you alright ?" He asked, shifting her against him, trying not to jar her too much, but enough to wake her up.

" I'm okay." She murmured. " I just need to hear you say it."

He bent his hand to her shoulder and brushed the tangle of hair over it so he could nuzzle her neck. He swallowed the large lump in his throat and cleared it, making sure that she would be able to hear him and understand him. He wasn't sure he could do it twice. " I lo-"

The elevator car jolted suddenly, sending them both tumbling sideways and making them land in a jumble against the far wall. He tried to right himself again, to sit up, but the car was now sitting at a very precarious angle with one side decidedly higher than the other.

He waited, expecting to hear the buzz and whirl of machinery starting up again, but nothing came except a long, pained groan from directly above them.

" Oh God !" Blair squealed. " We're going to die."

He grabbed her against him, holding her protectively to his chest. " We aren't going to die."

" One of the cables just snapped." She insisted. " We are going to fall."

" No, we aren't." He snapped.

She shifted and the groaning started again. The sound of metal grating against metal raking down his spine like nails down a chalkboard.

" Don't move." He warned her. " Just stay very still."

" You wouldn't be telling me not to move if you really didn't think we were going to fall." She was panicking. He could hear it in her tone, could almost see the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her entire body shook, trembling so hard it was causing his to shake as well, or maybe it was the knowledge that she was probably right that made him shake.

" Blair, listen to me. I need you to just take some deep breaths and try to calm down." He told her firmly. " We are going to be fine. We just need to hold on a little longer. Someone will come around any minute and get us out of here. But you have to get a hold of yourself. Can you do that ? Can you calm down for me ?"

Her face was buried in his bare chest. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as if were a lifeline. Finally, she sniffled and raised her face upward. He could feel her lashes brushing over his collarbone as she blinked. " Tell me." She whispered.

" Blair, -" he began, trying to tell her that this wasn't the time for this conversation. But she stopped him.

" NO!" she insisted, grabbing him harder, digging her nails into his flesh. " If I'm going to die, I want to hear you say it first."

" We aren't going to die." He repeated, taking her hand in his in an attempt to save his shoulder from her claws.

" Chuck, quit saying that when you know very well that it's entirely possible." She continued, her whole body still quivering so hard it was shaking the car.

" I'm not going to say it until we are safe and on the ground." He said finally. " That way you know that I didn't say it just because I thought we were going to die. I am telling you this though," He swallowed again. " If you're right, if we are going to die. This is how I want to go."

" What ?" She asked, raising her head. " You want to die in an elevator ?"

" No," He whispered. " I want to die with you in my arms so both of us go at the same time, Because there is no way I could live through losing you."

She went very silent and very still suddenly, no longer shaking, no longer trembling. His stomach dropped to his toes. " Blair," He nudged her as gently as possible. " Are you still okay ?"

A soft sob escaped from her and he relaxed instantly.

" I thought you said you couldn't be a romantic hero." She whispered as her lips found his.

The moment they connected, the lights above them flared to life just like fireworks in one of her movies.


	6. The Power of Pain

Three hours they sat there, huddled in a heap of arms and legs, listening to the crews of workers buzzing around them. The paramedics buzzed right outside the door.

The workers had managed to get the door opened but the car was trapped between two floors, only a small shaft of light showed at the top of the elevator. The voices of workers and paramedics yelled to them from above.

When the elevator finally moved and the faces of her rescuers became visible, Blair didn't think she had ever seen a more wonderful sight. Relief flooded her as she stepped out of the box and onto stable flooring. A relief intensified by the feel of Chuck's arm securely around her waist. She had never felt so glad to be alive, so thankful for each new breath she dragged into her lungs.

Of course, the paramedics descended on her immediately, pulling her away from the safety and security of his embrace and into the back of an ambulance without giving either of them much of an opportunity to protest.

Her mother was there, sobbing and holding her hand throughout the uncomfortable ride. She hated that she wished it wasn't her mother riding with her. She hated the unbearable feeling of cold that wrapped itself around her the moment she was no longer at his side.

She wondered, as they progressed through the crowded city streets, where he was now. Were Lily and Serena crowded around him, imitating her mother with cries of gratefulness that he was safe, or was he standing alone in the street with no one there to tell God thank you for sparing his life ?

He wasn't alone. She knew that his family would be there to take care of him. Eric seemed genuinely fond of him. Lily had grown quite attached to him over the last few months as well. And Serena might not be his biggest fan, but she wouldn't have wanted to see him dead either.

It gave her a little comfort to think that he wasn't alone. Though she wished desperately that it was her there with him, her thanking God for his survival.

She closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer at the thought. She didn't have to be by his side to be grateful.

" Blair, are you okay ? You haven't said a word since we left. Is your head okay ?" Her mother asked, clasping Blair's hand to her chest as if she thought she'd fade away without the contact.

" I'm fine. My head just needs a few stitches. Chuck said it wasn't even that bad really." She told her in the best patient voice she could muster.

" I just can't believe that the cables almost broke like that. I came so close to losing you."

" Chuck was there. He wasn't going to let anything happen to me." She gave her a smile. " Besides, its over now. I don't want to think about it anymore."

" Yes, Charles was there. Why was he half-dressed again ? You haven't really had a chance to explain that." Eleanor let her hand go and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at her daughter, with an entirely new look on her face. One of disapproval and judgment.

Blair sighed. At least, this was a look she was accustomed to. It was better than the sobbing and wailing at any rate. She supposed she knew her mother couldn't hold out any longer than she had.

" He took off his shirt to help stop the bleeding at the back of my head, Mother. He was half-dressed because he was concerned about me." Blair ground about between clenched teeth.

" You both just looked so disheveled." She muttered as she reached out to smooth a wayward curl from her daughter's shoulder.

" We were trapped in an elevator for four hours. Tossed like a couple of rag dolls. I'm sorry I wasn't looking my best when I stepped out of, what I was sure, was going to be my coffin. Next time I'll tell the rescuers to give me a moment before pulling me out of the rumble so I can fix my face." Blair spat, feeling the anger taking her. Aggression towards the woman beside her that had taken her years to cultivate and nurture were suddenly choosing that moment to rear up towards the surface.

She closed her eyes and tried to push the feelings away. It wasn't the time or place for her to deal with her Mommy issues. She just wanted to get to the hospital and get her head stitched up so she could go home.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly overcame her and she realized how long it had been since she actually slept. She knew she wouldn't have traded a moment of the night before spent in Chuck's arms for something as trivial as sleeping, but now that everything was all over, a nap seemed imminent and much called for.

" What were you doing in an elevator with Charles at three o'clock in the morning anyway ?" Her mother asked suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts.

" I was staying with Serena and we had a disagreement. Chuck was seeing me home." She lied easily.

" Well, that was very thoughtful of him, but I'm not sure I like how much time you seem to be spending with him. Things like this happen quite often around him, don't they ?"

Blair suddenly sat up and regarded her mother with narrowed eyes, all tiredness instantly zapped from her.

" Chuck saved me in that elevator. He wouldn't let me panic. He tried to call for help. He held his shirt over the back of my head because it was bleeding. Are you seriously blaming him for what happened ?" She demanded quickly.

Eleanor gave her an indulgent smile and pushed her gently back down to the stretcher. " This obviously isn't the time to discuss this. Of course I'm thankful that he was there with you. I wouldn't have wanted you to go through any of this alone. I just think that maybe, you're spending a little too much time with him. He isn't the kind of boy you want to get involved with."

" Well, guess what, Mother ?" Blair sneered. " I'm already involved and nothing you can say is going to change that. I love him and I'm going to spend as much time with him as I possibly can."

Her mother's eyes widened in shock, both at her tone and at her words. " You love him ? You're eighteen years old."

The paramedic sitting on the bench beside her mother raised his hand to adjust something over her head and they both realized that they weren't alone.

Eleanor looked away and began to fiddle with a strand of lace on her skirt. " We'll talk about this later."

Blair nodded and pursed her lips defiantly. " Okay, we can talk about it whenever you want, but the result will be the same."

Her mother's eyes snapped to her face and she looked as if she were about to say something else, but she took a deep breath instead.

They sat silently staring at each other for the rest of the ride.

* * *

Chuck was fidgeting. He wasn't a nervous person, but somehow the events of the evening had turned him into one. Sitting there in the back of his limo with Lily on one side of him and Eric on the other, he was clasping and unclasping his hands like a madman.

It had taken three burly paramedics to convince him that Blair was going to be alright and that her mother was the only other person that could ride in the ambulance with her.

It had taken three equally burly policemen to keep him from being true to his word and ripping the rail from the elevator with his bare hands.

It had only taken Lily and Eric a few moments to talk him into following the ambulance in his limo on the pretense that they wanted him to get checked out as well.

He tried to tell them he was fine. Other than a bruise or two, there was nothing wrong with him. The initial clatter around him was completely unfounded. But he supposed as he looked down at his blood streaked hands and chest, he couldn't blame everyone for being so worried.

He was a mess. His favorite shirt had been tossed in the garbage with no hope of salvation. His hair was a complete disaster. If it hadn't been for Eric's fast thinking in grabbing a clean shirt, he'd still be shirtless and shoe less, for that matter.

He hadn't been thinking about his clothes or his hair or his shoes. All his thoughts were on the ambulance and its contents as it pulled away from the curb leaving him staring after it like some love sick fool. The forlorn look on his face as the paramedics pulled her from his arms caused Lily to interceded before he really made a scene. She feared he wouldn't just let her go very easily and she was right. He had intended to put up a fight.

And a stern look from Eleanor Waldorf would not have been anything to him at all. Lily's hand on his shoulder had calmed him through. As she pulled him away from the stretcher where they were loading Blair into the back of the ambulance.

She whispered in his ear that it was alright. That they would just follow her to the hospital. There wasn't really an emergency, so the ambulance's siren remained silent and several times Chuck feared they might lose them in the crowd of traffic. Then he cursed himself for failing to ask what hospital they were taking her to.

If they lost her, he'd try them all. It was that simple. He didn't care how many hospital's there were in New York.

He was out of the limo and stalking towards the emergency room's sliding glass doors before the paramedics had the back door opened to unload their precious cargo.

He wanted to stand outside and wait until she was out, to make sure she knew he was there. But Lily and Eric urged him indoors.

The reception desk was crowded and the waiting room was worse. He wasn't patient enough to stand around and wait to be seen. He had doctors on call that would be at his apartment within a moment's notice if he gave them the word. This wasn't his place and he sneered at the huddled masses all around him. The bleeding, the injured, the pain-filled common people that were so beneath him at the moment it was taking everything inside him to stay in the same room. If it hadn't been for her, he would have fled. But he couldn't just leave her.

He also knew, as he took up one of the unoccupied, uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room with a man bleeding from his hand on one side of him and a woman that looked as if she were about to have a baby any moment on the other side, that Blair was the only person in the world that he would go through all this for.

* * *

He stared at his watch and huffed so many times that he'd lost count of them in the two hours that he sat there.

Not even the Waldorf name could move things along in this place apparently. All she had needed was a few stitches. The cut wasn't really that bad even. He had no idea why it was taking so fucking long, but he was getting tired.

He hadn't seen her since the paramedics had dragged her away from him and strapped her down to a stretcher. He needed to see for himself that she was okay. He needed to let her know that he hadn't gone anywhere.

The receptionist eyed him warily as he stepped over to her yet again.

" Can you at least tell me what's taking so long ?" He asked at her steely expression. She had already told him several times that she didn't know anything about Blair's condition and even if she did, she couldn't relate the information to anyone that wasn't immediate family.

" We're really crowded and you said your friend's injuries were minor. That puts her on a low priority list. I'm sure it won't be much longer though." The woman told him, not looking up from the computer screen she was surveying.

" Charles ?" A voice called behind him and he turned to find Cyrus Rose striding towards him on his short, stumpy little legs.

Chuck turned back to the irritating woman and snapped his fingers in her face to catch her attention.

" This is Miss Waldorf's step father. That immediate enough for you ? Why don't you make yourself useful and find someone that can tell us what's going on now ?"

" Where is she ? Eleanor said there was an accident in an elevator." Cyrus jabbered the moment he was in earshot.

Chuck didn't turn to him until the woman huffed and got up from her chair, disappearing behind a set of double doors at the far corner of the reception area.

" She's fine. Just a little cut on the back of her head. I have no idea why its taking so long." Chuck muttered as he turned towards the little man that reminded him of a troll.

" I know what's taking so long." Cyrus told him wisely as he held up his cellphone. " I just got off the phone with Eleanor and she says the doctor's are having a hard time convincing Blair that she needs stitches at all."

" What ?" Chuck fumed quickly. " Of course she needs-" Then he stopped as he suddenly remembered who he was talking about and what the problem actually was. " She won't let them cut her hair." He muttered, under his breath.

" Exactly." Cyrus nodded in agreement.

" Get me back there. I'll make sure she does what needs to be done." He told the older man.

Cyrus nodded and cleared his throat in an attention-demanding gesture.

The woman who had been so obnoxious to Chuck was just returning and she came to the desk at hearing the noise. " Your step daughter is fine. They are trying to work on her now. The nurse tells me the doctor has been in there with her for nearly thirty minutes now."

" Can I see her, please ?" Cyrus asked.

" Of course. It's right this way." She said, glancing back at Chuck who was following right on Cyrus' heels.

" I'm sorry. We only allow immediate family in the back. Just like I've told you several times now."

Cyrus stopped her with a look on his face that surprised Chuck. It was so authoritative and commanding that it left no room for argument. " The young man is with me." He told the woman and she looked as if she were about to protest, but Cyrus handed her a card from his pocket. " Now, we are just going to go back here and check on my step daughter and I sincerely hope that everything is in order and I'll have no reason to look too closely at anything. Malpractice and negligence suits can really do damage to a hospitals' reputation."

The woman clamped her mouth shut and led them through he doors without another word.

He could hear her yelling all the way out in the hall. As they approached the closed, heavy oak door, Chuck grimaced inwardly and felt sorry for the poor doctor that was in there with her.

Cyrus just turned to him and gestured towards the door.

" You're on, young man. Good luck."

Chuck braced his shoulders, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

As he entered the room, he fought against the urge to burst out laughing. Blair had two interns in the room with her and both of them looked as if they were scared beyond belief as they coward against the far wall.

A razor lay on the table to the side of the bed and Blair, hair now secured behind her and pulled up was lashing out at them with everything in her.

" You can't let them do this !" She shouted as soon as her eyes landed on him. " They want to shave my head !"

" Just a little spot at the nape of her neck." One of the interns piped up. " We've told her she wouldn't even be able to see it with her hair down."

Chuck narrowed his eyes at her. Then glanced back at the interns. " Have they told you this ?" he asked.

" They want to SHAVE my head !!!" She yelled.

" I've been sitting in the waiting room, thinking you were hurt far worse than you are for the last two hours because you wouldn't let them shave a tiny bit of your hair off ?" His voice was low and very controlled as he turned his gaze back to her.

He watched as her face fell and she looked down at the ground, clearly ashamed of herself. " I told them that I wanted to see you." She offered in way of an apology. " But they said I couldn't unless I let them do their jobs, which is apparently to maul me with a razor."

He stalked to the bed and took both of her hands in his. Then he looked down at her with hard eyes. "They aren't trying to maul you. They are trying to put a few simple stitches in your head. If you don't let them do that, do you have any idea what kind of scar you'll have ? Isn't that a bit worse then losing a tiny bit of hair that will grow back before you know it ?"

She looked away from him, clearly thinking over his words. " I hadn't thought about there being a scar." she muttered.

" Well, there certainly will be."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. " Why can't they just do it around the hair ?"

Chuck fumed silently as he regarded her. Then he tightened his grip on her hands and gave her an unpleasant smile. " Okay, let me explain this, like this. They are going to go about doing their jobs so we can go home. Now they can do this the easy way with your cooperation. Or -" he tightened his grip even further. " They can do this the hard way, with my help. Either way, you decide."

" You think you can hold me down ?" She snapped as she tried to yank her hands away from him.

" If that's what it takes." He said simply, quietly and with all sincerity.

" I can't believe you. Let me go, you Neanderthal !" she demanded, still struggling.

" For Christ's sakes Blair, aren't you as tired as I am ? Don't you want to go home as badly as I do ? Just let them do their job. I'm right here. I'm not going to let them butcher your hair. They promise to make sure you won't even notice." Then he looked over at the interns. " Right ?"

Both men nodded enthusiastically.

" You'll stay here with me and watch them so they'll be careful ?" she asked in a small voice that sounded nothing like her own.

" The entire time. I can promise you that they will do the best job they can possibly do." He assured her as he cast his hard, narrowed eyes at the doctors.

" Okay." She said finally.

Her hands tighten in his, nearly cutting off his circulation as the razor moved over her neck. Her eyes were closed in concentration and he could see the battle raging inside her. Again, he fought the urge to laugh at her, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated at the moment.

" You said you'd tell me when we were safe." She mumbled, as she opened her eyes.

" Blair, is this really the time for this ? Can't this wait until we get home ?" He asked, tensing suddenly.

" I don't want to wait any longer to hear it. Now is the prefect time. Besides, it'll take my mind off my head."

He eyed her for a long time, watching the emotions play over her face. She was still scared. He could tell that from the slight trembling in her hands. It wasn't all about her hair. She had never had stitches before. Never had anything like this happen to her, in fact. The doctor's unnerved her. She was terrified of the pain that she assumed was coming and all this fuss over her hair was just a smoke screen to cover her real fear.

He leaned closer to her, brushing her lips softly with his and had never been more thankful to see her fighting so hard. He realized the relief he'd felt the minute he opened the door and saw her finally after so long a wait.

He really had begun thinking there was more wrong with her. As he sat in the waiting room, trying to image what was taking so long, images of her frail, little body hooked up to machines and tubes ran through his mind.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes for a long moment.

Then one of the interns made the noise of setting the razor aside as the other one opened a package with a loud rip.

Blair glanced to them, darting her eyes over her shoulder immediately.

" Miss Waldorf, we're going to need you to stay still and not move your head." He told her.

Chuck griped her fingers and urged her eyes back to his. " It won't take long. Just look at me. It'll be over before you know it."

" Did they do okay with my hair ?" She asked, still hanging on to her indignation.

He leaned closer and looked over her shoulder. " It's so small you can hardly see it." He answered with a smile.

" No one will be able to tell ?" She continued.

" No. But I do have to tell you that apparently Gossip Girl got the tip and there are a few unfaltering photos of you from right after the accident." He said, quietly.

Her eyes widened. " Who would have done that ? Who would have taken pictures of me while I was being carted away in an ambulance ?"

" I don't know." He sighed. "But I've already put out the word that you're fine."

" Is Serena here ? Did she come with you ?" She was babbling, trying to take her mind off of what the doctor's were doing behind her.

" No, she stayed home. Eric and Lily were here for a while. But I finally convinced them to go home, too. But Cyrus is here." He told her. " Where's your mother ?"

" I sent her to the cafeteria. She was driving me crazy, trying to insist I wait for a plastic surgeon friend of hers to do the stitches. I tried to tell her it was silly."

He chuckled quietly. " It really is. I'm sure these fine doctor with do a great job."

Then he leaned forward and kissed her softly, lingeringly. She jerked in surprise at first, but finally let herself indulge in the feel of his lips against hers.

" We'll be back in about fifteen minutes. We just need to let it numb up before we finish." One of the doctors announced suddenly.

Blair jerked around and eyed them both with disbelief. " I thought you said you were going to put needles in my head ?"

He nodded with a smile. " I just did."

" I told you it would be okay." Chuck smiled down at her.

" That was sneaky, Bass, even for you." she accused him.

" It worked. You didn't even notice what they were doing."

The doctors both mouthed a silent thank you to him from behind her before quickly retreating from the room.

" You shouldn't have given them such a hard time. They were just trying to take care of you." Chuck reprimanded her as the door closed.

" I told you they were trying to shave my head, right ?" She asked as she made a spot for him beside where she was sitting.

" I think you might have mentioned it." He laughed as he sat and pulled her into him.

She let her head rest on his chest as she snuggled into his side. " What took you so long to get here ? I thought you didn't come."

" The wretched, soulless witch at the reception wouldn't let me back here. I followed the ambulance the entire way. Of course I came." He explained.

" There is a wretched soulless witch at the reception ? You must be losing your touch. I'm surprised you didn't have her eating out of your hand within moments of meeting you."

He laughed again. " Maybe I am. But the thought of seducing her never crossed my mind. Not that it would have worked. I'm guessing you'd have had a better chance with her." He admitted.

" Oh, wow, they found a wretched, soulless, same-sex oriented, witch to man the front desk. That's impressive. Those are hard to find." She teased.

" You nearly scared me to death, you know. I couldn't image what was taking so long and my mind was coming up with all sorts of things I don't ever want to think about again." He told her truthfully.

" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Did you have something to say to me ? Don't even image that I forgot about it." She pulled back a little and blinked up at him.

" I am well aware that you haven't forgotten." He smiled. " I just don't think this is the right time or place for this discussion."

" Why not ? We're alone. We're safe and I just had my head examined so I know I'm sane." She answered.

" I think you've needed to do that for a very long time now." He teased." The fact that you want me to say it so badly means that their equipment is faulty. I would sue if I were you."

" Quit stalling and just say it." She smiled, refusing to let him escape.

" I.." he hesitated and her face fell instantly.

" Why is this so hard ? I just want to know how you feel about me." She protested.

" You do know how I feel. Why can't that be enough for you ?" He countered.

" It has been enough for me. But you started this trust game, not me. I've shown you how much I trust you. Now I need to know that you trust me, too."

" It isn't the same and you know it."

" No, it isn't. Mine means so much more." She quipped.

" You haven't said it to me either, you know. I'm not the only one that doesn't share their feelings. You are just as bad."

" No, I'm not." She huffed, sitting up completely and moving out of his arms. " I've told you before. Or were you too drunk to remember ?"

He looked away, completely ashamed of himself at the memory. She had told him. She had laid herself out for him and yet again, he had stomped on her like an insect.

" That's too bad." Those were his exact words at hearing her confession. As if it meant nothing to him. When in reality, it meant everything.

" No, I wasn't too drunk. I remember it very clearly." He answered finally. " And I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted."

" I don't want you to be sorry. We've already dealt with all that. I never blamed you. You just lost your father. Jack was there screwing up your life. I understood. I forgave you. It's over." She told him, taking his hand.

" Don't you see ? That's exactly why I think you need to move on. To find someone that won't hurt you like that." He said, reverting back to his earlier argument.

" I will never find anyone that fits me like you do." She told him, leveling him with her gaze.

" Neither will I." He whispered as he pulled her back to him and brushed her lips with his.

" Then let's stop playing games and just admit it. Can't we just be done now ?" She pleaded with him.

" Okay. You're right. I lo-"

The door opened abruptly and Eleanor burst through it like a whirlwind. She stopped as her eyes landed on Chuck sitting on the bed with Blair in his arms.

Blair glared as her mother crossed her arms over her chest. " Am I interrupting ?" She asked, icily.


	7. The Power of Change

Eleanor was back in full-on hover mode, not leaving Blair's side for a moment. Not even Cyrus' urges would budge her. And the looks she was throwing Chuck were causing him to squirm.

He didn't do parents. It wasn't his thing. He was the guy the parents gave warnings about. That's who he was. He was that guy. Not the guy that stood by and held your hand while doctors worked on. Not the guy that tried to make small talk with your parents. It was all a new experience for him and he didn't like it.

He enjoyed being the 'warnings' guy so much more.

But Blair just pushed on, clutching his hand and smirking at her mother defiantly. Trying to shove him into a part he wasn't cut out for.

He was trying though and the look in Blair's eyes as she watched him so carefully said she knew about his effort and she was grateful. That look made him stay beside her, despite how uncomfortable Eleanor was making him.

" I have a flight this afternoon." Blair's mother answered suddenly as she glanced at her watch. " I have a meeting in Paris first thing in the morning. How much longer is this going to take ?"

The Doctor at Blair's back glanced up and grimaced. " I'm done actually, but Miss Waldorf can't be left alone. She may have a concussion. She needs to be monitored."

" Dorota is on vacation until Monday." Her mother huffed. " Maybe I can call her back early."

" Mom, she has been looking forward to this vacation for months. She never gets to visit her family. You can't do that." Blair insisted.

" I'm working on my opening argument for what could be the biggest case of my career. I need to be at the office tonight." Cyrus interjected when all eyes fell to him.

" I'll stay with her." Chuck offered, drawing everyone's attention.

" If you really think that I'm going to leave you alone with my daughter all night by yourselves, you're the one that should have your head examined." Eleanore announced adamantly.

Chuck stood from the bed, coming to his full height and leveling her with his classic narrowed eyes.

" I'll take care of her. She's important enough to me that I'll drop everything else I have going on in order to be with her." He said, quietly.

" You're seventeen years old, what could you possibly have going on that you'd need to drop." Eleanor spat as she eyed him right back with her arms crossed over her chest.

" Let's see," He smiled deviously. " I have a meeting with a couple of very big Japanese investors first thing in the morning. Then I have a shareholders meeting right before lunch. After lunch I have a budget meeting planned and then I have dinner with my legal staff. But none of that, not one thing on that list is going to keep me from being with Blair until I know for sure she's alright."

" You're seventeen ?" The doctor asked, from the sidelines of the conversation, with awe and disbelief in his voice.

" I don't need a babysitter. Honestly, all of you just go about doing what you need to do. I'll be fine." Blair told them all.

" Someone needs to wake you up every two hours and check your pupils. Make sure you're still okay." The doctor explained. "I'm sure we can find a bed for her here, if we need to."

Blair's eyes turned panicked as she caught Chuck's. " No, she isn't staying. She's coming home with me."

" No, she isn't." Eleanor insisted again.

" Sweetheart, I think if Chuck is willing to stay with her, we should let him. It solves all our problems. It's not like he's going to hurt her. He just saved her life." Cyrus said with a hand on Eleanor's shoulder. Then he turned to Blair. " Is it okay with you ? Do you want to stay with Chuck ?"

Blair nodded quickly then winced at the pain. " Yes, I think that's a perfect solution."

" But I'd hate for him to have to disrupt all his plans." Eleanor answered sweetly.

" Like I said, whether I'm taking care of her or not, I'm going to be there, wherever she is. So really my plans are already disrupted."

" Fine. But there are going to be rules." She finally relented.

" I"m great with rules." Chuck beamed at her.

Three hours later she was, at last, settled into her comfortable bed. Cyrus had already left for his office with a promise to check on them at regular intervals. Eleanor had gone to the airport with a promise to call as soon as she landed. And Chuck was sitting beside her, still holding her hand and smiling at her indulgently.

" So what's it going to be ? Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Cary Grant in An affair to Remember ? " He asked, holding out both DVDs to her.

" Right now, I just want a nap." She answered honestly. " I feel like someone dropped a house on me."

" Okay then, a nap it is." He agreed pulling her blankets more securely around her.

" You're coming to bed, too ? Right ?" She asked, her eyes panicked again.

" That would be against the first rule on your mother's list." He smiled.

" Yeah, but you're Chuck Bass, since when do rules apply to you." She smiled back.

" Cyrus will be checking on us." He continued.

" Cyrus is going to call us on the phone every once in a while in order to indulge my mother. He likes you. I know it sounds strange, but he does. And more importantly, he trusts both of us."

He let go of her hand and began working on the buttons of his shirt. " So you think we're all alone ?"

" Yes, Bass. We are all alone. Why are you suddenly so scared of my parents ? You never cared before."

He stopped in the middle of shrugging off his shirt. She was right. Their opinion of him had never mattered to him before. He wasn't sure why it was suddenly so important to him that he had their approval.

Maybe it was this new role she was making for him. The possibility that he might be spending time with her parents occurred to him. That was boyfriend thinking again. Where had all this new way of seeing things between them come from ? What had changed ?

He suddenly no longer felt like just a friend with an arrangement. He no longer saw her in that category. She was more. Had been more for a long while. He couldn't even remember the last time he considered her a friend.

" What are you thinking so hard about ? It was a simple question. Are you coming to bed or not ?" She asked, breaking him from his inner thoughts.

" Of course I'm coming to bed." He answered. Sliding off his shirt, he let it fall the rest of the way to the floor without another thought. Then he toed off his shoes and began to slip in beside her.

" You're coming to bed like that ?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

" Yes, is there some problem with my attire ?" He chuckled.

Her small hand slide out from under the blanket and slowly up his thigh. He stilled instantly and watched her fingers graze over the fabric of his pants.

" Now wouldn't that have been so much better on skin ?" She asked as she batted her eyes.

His pants were off and laying on the floor before he really registered what he was doing.

She huffed out a pout and pursed her lips. " I thought you said next time I could help."

" This isn't next time. This is a nap." He informed her as he pulled her into the croak of his arm and settled against her.

Her fingers snaked out and began to make small circles over his bare chest, teasing through the light dusting of hair she found there. " But Chuck, " she whined before her lips brushed over his arm.

" You're hurt. You're exhausted and you need to rest." He persisted.

" What I need is you." She shifted and before he could protest, she was straddling his waist.

" Blair." The word was meant as a warning but came out as a sigh as she rocked her hips against his, causing his breath to catch in his throat.

She laid out over him, pressing her breasts into his chest and let her lips play over his throat. His hands found her hips and let them rest there for a moment, lingering on the feel of her smooth, soft skin under his fingertips.

Then she set up suddenly and smiled down at him with a twinkle in her eyes. " I've been thinking about our little trust game all day long. And I've come to a conclusion."

" What conclusion is that ?" He prompted as his hands ascended from her hips and over her ribcage, not stopping until he was cradle her breasts in his palms. His thumbs flicked over her nipples in unison and she shuddered, but never lost the daring look in her eyes.

" I'm upping the stacks." She announced as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

" If you think you can threaten me into saying it, it won't work. It wouldn't mean anything if you did."

He explained.

" I'm not threatening you. You're right. It wouldn't mean anything that way." She ground against him.

" And using sex as a weapon is so childish and immature. That isn't going to work either."

" That is so not me. You're right. Again, it would just be a means for you to get what you want. That isn't what I want from you."

" Then what is this master idea of yours ? Should I be worried ?" He smirked.

Then she reached up and took his hands in hers and held them tightly. The look in her eyes shifted from twinkling to smoldering and all mischievousness was instantly gone.

" No, I'm making it easier for you." She told him. " I'm saying it first. Maybe then it won't be so hard for you. But honestly, whether you say it or not, really doesn't matter anymore. Not after last night and the elevator. I've never come so close to dying before." She looked away and snaked her tongue out to wet her lips, which suddenly looked dry. " I don't want to take the chance of missing my opportunity. So whatever happens next, whatever you do with the information. At least you'll know and I won't have to worry that you don't." She shrugged, telling him with the gesture that it was simple logic driving her actions. " So, I love you. I will probably always love you and I most likely always have. Since we were five years old and you were pulling my pigtails and calling me a brat. Since we were ten years old and you were putting frogs down my shirt. Since we were thirteen and you spent an entire summer trying to catch Serena and I changing so you could see us naked. I've loved you. And no matter what you do or say, there is nothing that is going to change that. I think I've proven that by still being here after all this time."

He had no idea what to say to her. His mouth opened and closed again as he searched for his witty comeback or emotional, heartfelt response. He still hadn't decided which he was going to go with. The old Chuck would have used the comeback. He would he thought of a smart, humorous quip to make her laugh and lighten the situation. The old Chuck would have tried to divert her attention by dragging her under him and slamming into her until she screamed. The old Chuck would have tried anything, attempted anything to escape the situation he now found himself in. The old Chuck would have faked a seizure to get out the room if that was what it took.

He didn't do any of those things and because of that, he knew she had changed him, altered him on a fundamental level so carefully that he hadn't even realized he was being changed.

So , when the knock came to the door at that moment and Blair scrambled away from him and answered Serena's calling voice, the old Chuck would have be so grateful, he could have kissed his step- sister.

The new Chuck hated her and wondered silently what power was doing its best to keep him from telling her what he desperately wanted her to hear suddenly.


	8. The Power of Sin

Blair was going to Hell. She wasn't really a religious person, but if she had been, she knew with absolute certainty that was doomed to Hell.

She had been allowed to pick the first of the three movies they were currently enjoying. A fact that did not slip past Blair as she watched Chuck squirming through Breakfast at Tiffany's. The classic, perfect, first ever, chick flick.

Since Serena had decided to stay for that one, they were only now laying back in her comfortable bed, mostly naked, wrapped around each other, trying to stay warm, despite the chill in the air.

She had protested whole-heartedly at his choice of movies. But finally she gave in and as the screen darkened and disturbing images assaulted her senses, she decided to ignore the movie and instead study the man she was currently draped over.

Seven, that was the movie he had chosen. A movie about a serial killer trying to personify the seven deadly sins.

She smiled to herself as the thought occurred to her that she and Chuck were guilty of every one of them.

There was Lust. Well that was a given. There was always lust between them. Being in the same room with each other inspired the sort of lust in them that most people dream about. The air sparkled around them with the weight of their lust for each other. Sometimes it made it hard for her to breath. It was the kind of heady, lost sensation that most addicts yearn for.

Gluttony was also easy. Because she knew that no matter what, she would never, ever, ever be able to get enough of him. She could drown in him and it still wouldn't be enough. She never tired of the feel of him, under her, over her, beside her. The feel of his skin on hers, the taste of his lips. The sound of his voice, the look in his eyes. She was completely addicted to all of it.

Greed, she was so very greedy with him it was ridiculous. It was hard for her to share him in any way at all with others. She wanted him all to herself, all the time. If she thought there was a way for them to survive it, she would happily lock them two of them away from the rest of the world and never have to share him with another soul for the rest of their lives. She wanted every piece of him. Every smile he gave away to a random stranger on the street. Every word he spoke that wasn't meant for her. Every step he took that wasn't bringing him into her arms. Yes, she was greedy. She wanted all of him, every little piece, all the time.

Envy, every moment he spent away from her, she was envious of those that got to be with him in those moments. But there was more to her envy than that. She envied the first girl he kissed. The first one he touched, the first one he made love to. She wanted to be all those girls. She wanted to be his only girl, ever. Just like he was for her. There would never be another man's hands touching her the way he did. There would never be another man's lips on hers. There would never be another man inside her, surrounding her. But she knew that wasn't the case for her. Chuck was experienced and worldly. He taught her everything she knew about sex. His experience was one of the things that had drawn her to him. But deep down she hated that there had been women before her.

Sloth. She could happily spend the rest of her days, laying in her bed, never leaving it, as long as he was with her. She could so easily become completely indifferent to the world around her, to everything that didn't directly involve Chuck. She could make him her world. And it was actually a fight for her not to indulge in that particular sin. He was all she wanted. Nothing else mattered to her much at all anymore. Her entire universe had somehow come to revolve around him. He was the bright center of her life. The Sun which everything else rotated around. She never wanted to be one of those women. The ones that made the man in their lives everything to them. She loved her independence. It was important to her. But he had robbed her of it. She wasn't sure she could even exist without him anymore.

Wrath, God that could make each other so angry sometimes. No one else on Earth could inspire in her the kind of wrath he could. There were moments when all she wanted was to break him. To hurt him so utterly that he would never recover. Her wrath towards him caused her regret most times. She hated herself for how angry she let herself get at him. But then again, most times, he deserved her anger. And for his part, she had never seen him get so angry at anyone else in his life. As much as he inspired her anger, she inspired his.

Pride. Pride was the one sin keeping them apart. Both them were so damned prideful that admitting they needed each other was almost beyond their capability. It was what was keeping him from telling her how he really felt about her. It had kept her from admitting it to him months before. Of course, superficially, they were both full of pride. They were the beautiful people. The ones others wanted to be like. She couldn't count the number of hours she had spent, alone in her bed, imaging how perfect their children would be. Yes, both of them were so damned full of pride, both superficially and emotionally, it was bordering on irrational.

But today, today she had set her pride aside. Laid herself out for him completely and since she had, he had barely spoken a word to her.

That thought scared her more than she wanted to admit. She told him she didn't care if he said it back. She told him that it didn't matter, but she lied.

It did matter. And as the hours ticked away with the words still unspoken from him, she felt like her chest was closing in and her world was exploding.

She shifted slightly as the dark thoughts assaulted her and resisted the urge to flex her hand where it rested on his shoulder. She didn't want to bring his attention to her inner turmoil.

She pushed the feeling of emptiness away and decided instead, to try to think of a way to combat her impeding trip to Hell.

The virtues. How many of the virtues could she claim where Chuck was concerned.

Well humility, that was the counterpart to pride. She had definitely already achieved that one. The words of her earlier speech came back to her unbidden and she fought to push them away again. Yeah, humility she had.

Love was the opposite of wrath and she knew she had that as well.

Diligence was the virtue associated with Sloth. She had been diligent in her pursuit of the man beside her. She had never given up on him, though there were plenty of times when she felt she should.

The virtue for envy was kindness. And she felt she had been kind towards him. More kind than he deserved a lot of time. There were times, when they were completely alone, that both of them could be so unbelievably kind to each other. The night she spent, right after his father's death, holding him to her and letting him cry on her shoulder like a child, that night she had been kind. More kind than she ever felt herself capable of being. Still, one of the hardest things in the world for them, seemed to be the ability to just be nice to each other. So, kindness she would have to work on.

Another she would have to work on was Charity. She never felt charitable when it came to him. Sharing had never been something she was especially good at. So she promised herself, right then, that she would try to be more giving in the future. It wasn't healthy to be so wrapped up in someone that you couldn't stand to be apart from them even for a few hours. Chuck was an important man and that would only get worse when he took over his father's company. She was would do her best to share him with the rest of the world.

Temperance, the virtue for gluttony, she felt she had that in the bag as well. She had been nothing but patient with him. How many months had she waited to hear him tell her he loved her ? How many of his own sins had she forgiven him for and looked past ? Yes, temperance was not a problem.

That brought her to the last of her virtues, chastity. It was at that moment that he leaned up and brushed his lips lingeringly across her shoulder. The shiver of her response to the gesture made her smile.

Well, six out of seven wasn't bad.

Chuck glanced away from the screen as the ending credits finally began to roll. She had been teasing him for the last half hour. Playing with the hair on his thigh and seemingly innocently running her nail over his skin.

She was driving him insane. He fought several times against his instinct to just grab her up and take her.

But that wasn't what their day together was about and he wasn't going to permit it to turn into that. He wanted it to be more, to mean more. He wanted to know that they could spend an afternoon together without ripping each other's clothes off. He wanted to prove to her and himself that what they had together was about more than just sex.

He had done a remarkable job up until that point and now she wasn't making it easy on him. Her nail played along the leg of his boxers and his breath hitched unconsciously. Okay, so maybe he had been setting himself up to fail when he agreed to slid into her bed in nothing but his boxes while she was beside him in that satiny, silky, lacy thing she called a gown. The champaign color highlighted her tanned skin and the color of her hair.

When he looked down at her, one of the thin, meaningless straps of it had fallen from her shoulder, exposing just the barest hint of her breast under all her curls. He reached a hand up and brushed the hair away, feasting his eyes on her skin and devouring her with his gaze.

" I thought we were going to watch a few movies and just relax." He muttered, leaning down to kiss her shoulder.

She shivered under his lips and he knew he was gone.

" We did. Now its time to move on to more active activities. We wouldn't want anyone to accuse us of being lazy, now would we ?" She smirked as her finger dipped even further under his boxers, grazing the hair of his inner thigh and drawing a hiss from him.

It was ludicrous that just something as simple as her fingers against his skin could instantly cause that reaction in him. He wasn't some virgin on prom night. But despite his experience, her touch inflamed him every time.

" No," He whispered in her ear. " We wouldn't want to be accused of that."

Then he drew her earlobe between his lips and sucked on it, before nipping it gently, the way he knew would make her moan. And he wasn't disappointed as she leaned into him and let the soft sound escape her.

" God, Blair." He groaned as he eased down into the softness of her bed and pulled her into him.

" Yes, Chuck." She smiled against his lips.

" The things you do to me." He muttered, not really paying attention to what he was saying as he palmed her breasts.

" Tell me." She answered, arching her back further into him. "Tell me what I do to you."

" You make me forget anything else exists." He told her, truthfully. " When you're touching me, nothing else matters."

"Chuck," She groaned, her fingertip flicked over his nipple and he clutched her tighter.

He pulled back and eyed her carefully. " Does your head hurt ?"

She shook her head just before it descended to his neck. Her teeth nipped at his flesh and he groaned.

" Are you sure we should be doing this ? You're hurt. Maybe this isn't a good idea." He continued, wanting to know she was alright before they went any further.

She sat up abruptly and he instantly felt at a complete loss. " Okay," She snapped, catching him off guard. " First, you've hardly talk to me since before Serena showed up. Now you're looking for excuses not to have sex. If what I said earlier bothers you this much, I take it all back.."

" What are you talking about ?" He asked, dumbfounded by her sudden outburst.

She put her head in her hands. " I don't want to play this game anymore. It's awful. Can we please just pretend like we never started this. I can go back to pretending to hate you. You can go back to pretending you only want me for sex. It was easy that way. You're right this is getting complicated."

He took her hands and dragged them from her face, then waited until she looked up at him.

His smile was bold and bright as he meet her gaze. " I don't want to go back. I can't. We've come too far now. Please don't even try to take back what you said. You have no idea how much it meant to me to hear it."

" Then why have you been acting all weird since then ?" She pouted, complete with jutting bottom lip.

He wanted to scoop down and drawn that lip between his own. But he held back, knowing it was time. It was time he said the things she had been dying to hear. Eight letters, three little words and all this would be over.

He opened his mouth and waited for a beat for whatever it was that was going to interrupt him this time. When nothing came, he took a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to go about what he wanted to say.

Her eyes were wide, expectant and eager, like a child getting a Christmas present. He nearly laughed at the expression on her face.

" I haven't been acting weird. Today has been the best day I've had since longer than I can remember. Just you and me, nothing pressing on us, no outside influences, well, except that one little one, but she left fairly quickly."

" CHUCK !" She yelled and squeezed his hands, stopping his ramble.

" Okay, I'm sorry." His eyes twinkled as she wiggled closer to him restlessly. " Like I was saying, today has been wonderful. There isn't anything I could possibly think of that could make it any better. I want the chance to spend more days like this. I think maybe next Friday I could clear my schedule. If you're not busy maybe we could do something like this again, just laying around, watching movies..."

" Chuck ! " It was a whine this time and he couldn't contain his laughter any longer.

She slapped his shoulder in response.

" What ? We're you expecting me to say something else ?" He asked, feigning innocence.

Her eyes blazed at him and she snatched her hands away to plant them on her hips.

" God, you're acting like you were expecting me to propose or something ?" He held out his hands and splayed his fingers. " I swear, I'm not hiding a ring anywhere. But you're welcome to check and make sure."

" Stop teasing ME !" She yelled at last unable to contain herself any longer.

His smile slipped away suddenly and he took her hands again. His eyes found hers and all playfulness was gone from his expression. " Blair, I lo-"

Then the phone rang.


	9. The Power of Love

" You still haven't told me where we're going." She pouted at his side as she slid closer to him.

He turned his attention from the window and offered her a smile. " And I'm not going to until we're there. This is getting ridiculous and I'm putting a stop to it."

" What's ridiculous and how does making me get up and get dressed, ushering me from my warm bed to the back of a limo help to stop it ?" She tugged at the sleeve of his heavy coat.

" We're going to the airport. That's all you need to know for now. The last thing I want is for you to get all excited and accidentally let our destination slip to one of our 'friends'." He smirked.

" Are you saying you don't trust me ?" She demanded.

" I'm saying that sometimes," He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, " you get carried away and say things you shouldn't. I want no mistakes this time."

" So you think I'll be excited when I find out where we're going ?" She continued to badger him.

" What must I do to shut you up ?" He replied with his wolfish grin.

She grinned up at him and licked her lips. " You'll think of something I'm sure."

He spent the rest of the ride to the airport with his lips against hers, making it impossible for her to think of anything else.

He refused to let her drink champaign once they were settled inside his plane and it annoyed her until she considered his reasoning. She had, after all, just gotten a fairly serious head injury. He laughed quietly when he told her the last thing he wanted was for her to take any chances. In the end, she decided that his concern for her well being was enough to melt her heart.

So she settled and sipped at her orange juice quietly without further argument.

Once she realized how truly alone they were, her anticipation once again got the better of her and she moved to his side, plucking the folder he was reading from his grasp and setting it safely aside. Then she climbed into his lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

" We seem to be completely alone now." Her whispering breath displaced the short hairs on the back of his neck. " Wasn't there something you were trying to tell me earlier ?"

He barked out a huge laugh and pulled her to him. " You think now is the time for that ?"

She smacked his chest. " I think its as good a time as any."

" And risk having the plane plummet from the sky, I don't think so." He answered.

" Then what is all this about ? Where are we going ?"

" I'm not tell you." He smirked.

" Why not ?" If she had been standing she wold have stomped her foot.

" Because this is the way I want it." He answered matter-of-factly.

" At least, tell me why we left. After Cyrus called to check on us, you just grabbed me and started throwing clothes at me. " She demanded.

He leaned back to watch her face as he considered her request. " I realized something earlier. Something I should have seen a long time ago."

" And what was this great epiphany that caused you to spirit me away to your plane ?" She asked as she toyed with his collar.

He sighed and shifted her slightly. " I've been fighting this image you have of me in your mind. I've tried everything to make you see that I don't fit into the box you've put me in. I gave up on being able to be 'that guy' before I even tried it. "

She nodded in encouragement for him to continue.

"What I didn't consider is that I'm Chuck Bass. I don't fail and I never, ever give up."

She gulped visibly as the determination of his tone reached her brain. " Okay, you win this time." She said, finally. " I'll play along. But tell me now, is this something I should be getting used to ?"

" What is that ? Letting me win ? oh definitely." He purred against her throat as he shifted again and started to work on the buttons of her blouse.

" Not going to happen. I meant you just deciding on a whim to whisk me away to destinations unknown for your own nefarious purposes." She clarified as she moved enough to grant him better access to her chest.

" Oh that," He grinned as he nipped at her lip. " Maybe. Are you complaining ?"

She grabbed his shirt and yanked it opened forcefully, sending buttons flying across the compartment.

" Not in the least. I just wanted to know if I should start keeping a suitcase handy."

He scooped her into his arms with little difficulty and walked them over to the full size bed at the rear of the cabin. " Blair, I think you might just be getting a charter membership in the mile high club."

Her heart skipped as he laid her gently down in the middle of the soft mattress. He towered over her, his knee resting against her hip as his teeth nipped at her neck.

She grabbed his shoulders, clutching him to her desperately. All of her senses flared to life as he held her against him and continued his assault on her body. All she could hear was the sound of his breath as it slid over her skin. All she could taste was the salty sweetness of his neck on her tongue. All she could see were the tightly corded muscles of his back as he hovered above her. All she could smell was his cologne along with that musky, raw aroma that was just Chuck. And all she could feel was his skin under her fingertips, the hairs on his legs as they brushed across her smooth ones, his warm, seeking hands as they glided over every inch of her.

He was still struggling with her shirt, his nimble fingers unable to deal with the tiny buttons in his haste to rid her of the garment. Finally he moved down her body and brought his mouth to the offending closure.

" Have I ever told you about my fantasy ?" He asked, his voice nothing more than a purr of pure sex.

" What fantasy ?" She gasped as he suckled her chest through her shirt.

" The one where I undress you with my teeth." He answered.

Her breath hitched as his wet mouth descended over her through the material and then he bit, breaking the threads of the button with his teeth.

" Oh God," She groaned as she writhed under him at the unexpected move.

He looked up at her with his customary grin before moving on to the next button in line.

By the time he was done, she was on the edge, ready to fall into oblivion and she realized, she still wasn't completely undressed.

He took a moment to tug the ruined blouse from her shoulders and tossed it to the floor in a discarded heap. Then he went to work on her skirt. He Adjusted her until she was on her side with him nestled behind her so he could get to the zipper that rested at her hip.

Again, after seeing the effect his show with her shirt had gotten him, he bent his head to her hip and grasped the tab of her zipper in his teeth. He slid it down with an aching slowness that made her chest ache with her need for him.

He was so different this time. So careful, so lingering, so utterly engrossed in every measured, careful movement. His hands rose up her sides, sliding over her ribs, fingers splayed as they rose to her breast. She threw her head back, bringing her arm around behind her so she could feel him.

His fingers played over the black lace of her bra as his thumb flicked her nipple through the fabric.

She ground into him, causing him to make a growling noise low in his throat. " Blair, " He sighed into her hair a moment before sliding his mouth down to the clasp of her bra. She felt his teeth scrap over her spine as he unhooked it carefully. Then his hands came up and drew the straps down her arms and off her body.

Suddenly, she was on her back again, squirming as his mouth latched onto first one nipple then the other.

He didn't linger there long, instead, he slid his long, lean length down until he was even with her thigh. He snaked his tongue out and dipped it under the edge of her stocking, following it around until he was settled between her legs and his mouth was grazing her inner thigh.

She sighed loudly and arched up again as he grasped the strap of her garter belt and bit it in two. Next, he hooked his tongue under her stocking and let his lips brush over her skin as he glided the nylon all the way down her leg. He stopped only briefly to nip at the back of knee. Then again to suckle at her ankle.

Her hands grasped at the blankets under her as he repeated the move with her other leg.

His hands were grasping her hips, urging her to raise up as his mouth moved back to her waist, deftly skirting over the one place she wanted him most. She whimpered at the feel of his warm breath over her panties and groaned when he ignored her and continued with his own plan.

She raised her hips into mouth at her urging and he grabbed her ruined garter belt with his teeth. Once it joined the rest of her demolished clothing on the floor, he came back to her hip. Letting his tongue slid under the thin strap of her black lace panties.

" Chuck, please. I really like those." She managed to moan before he could bite them in half.

" Oh, so do I. I promise not to destroy these." He chuckled and the combination of the sound of it and the feel caused her to writhe once again.

He continued to run his tongue under the band of her panties, following it along her hip, then down her pelvis until he was once again, hovering directly over her heat.

With his face inches away, he smiled up at her and let out a groan of his own. " God, I can feel how hot you are from here."

She found the back of his head with her hand and let her fingers run through his hair as she returned his devilish grin. " All because of you."

His pupils dilated, his eyes narrowed and suddenly he was diving between her legs. His teeth brushed her through the material and she gasped, raising her hips off the bed.

He clasped the material between his teeth as his fingers urged the panties off and away from her.

Then he was back again, letting his tongue run through her curls, down the bend of her leg, over her inner thigh, everywhere but where she wanted him, needed him most.

" Chuck, Please." She ground out between her teeth.

" Now, now," He told her, holding her hips back down to the bed with his hand. " You don't have to beg."

She felt his mouth against her as he spoke and she yelled his name to the ceiling.

Then his tongue delved inside her and she was crying out again. A moment later she was clutching his head hopelessly, pulling at his locks as his tongue swirled around her tight bundle of nerves, making her lose touch with all reality.

When she landed, falling back to the bed with a heavy thump, he was beside her, holding her tightly to his chest until her breathing struggled to return to something close to normal.

" God, I love you." She whispered into his neck as she nibbled at his flesh.

" I'll never get enough of seeing you like this." He told her, leaning his head back so she could reach more of his throat. " You have no idea what it does to me to know that I'm the only one that's ever touched you like, seen you so abandoned, so passionate."

She pushed him to the bed with a hand on his shoulder and moved over him, resting a knee on either side of his hips. She dipped her tongue to the hollow of his throat and let the feel of his stumble brush her against it.

He clutched at her, hissing through his clenched teeth as she took each of his nipples into her mouth and bit them carefully.

" Blair," Her name tumbled from his lips as she made her way down his chest, pausing to dip her tongue into his navel.

She unzipped his pants and yanked the button away almost violently.

In one motion, she snatched both his pants and boxers down.

He was still resettling his hips back to the bed when she took his entire length in her mouth, encasing him completely in the warm, moist softness.

His breath was harsh as his chest rose and fell in uneven pants when she slid him out of her mouth only to envelope him completely again.

His hands grabbed for her as he pulled back, taking himself out of her warmth. " Stop." He whined, his voice perilously close to breaking.

She raised up, drawing her body back along his length until her lips were over his. " What's wrong ?" She teased, " Can't you take it ?"

She cried out as she suddenly found herself under him. And then in another swift movement he was inside her, completely encased as far as her body would allow him. She shrieked in pleasure and felt her nails sink into his shoulders.

" What's wrong?" He groaned against her lips. " Can't you take it ?"

She fought for a snappy comeback but found herself unable to answer as he plunged into her again and again. Her breath came out in harsh rasps through her slacken lips.

Her eyes clenched closed involuntarily as her head fell back.

" No," He panted over her, stilling until she looked up at him. "Don't close your eyes. I want to see you."

She concentrated on holding her eyes opened, losing herself in the feel on him moving so deeply inside her and in the look in his eyes as he watched her, watching him.

Her release came on quickly, urged by his struggling gaze, and finally she wasn't able to hold his eyes any longer.

A moment later, she felt him tense as her name fell from his lips and he joined her.

It was completely unfair she decided as she struggled to keep her hands from the blindfold that was once again secured over her eyes. And she had done it to herself.

Her exact words, which had he so successfully thrown into her face just moments before, were ' Okay, you win this time. I'll play along'.

This was not what she had meant. She was definitely going to have to step up her game if this was going to become a habit for them. Chuck was not a man you said things to without carefully weighing them first.

He had put the scarf over her eyes before they ever left the plane and while she was reveling in the feel of his hand on the small of her back and her elbow as he guided her into the limo, she was hating the fact that she had no control over anything that was going on.

More than that she hated how much she loved him like this, so commanding, so in control, so forceful. She had never considered herself the type of woman that would go for the strong, dominate type of man. But God ! She couldn't contain the shivers that ran through her when he was like this.

The moment the car stopped she reached for the blindfold, but he stopped her before she got it even a fraction of an inch over her eyes.

" No, not yet." He whispered, stilling her hands. " I promise it will be worth the wait.

Then they were walking. The ground below her was definitely concrete and the air was cold. She wrapped her coat a bit tighter around her and snuggled more completely into his side.

" Did you have to pick somewhere cold ?" She asked a bit annoyed. " Couldn't you have whisked me off to Bermuda or Tahiti ?"

He laughed. " Next time. This time I needed spectacular."

" So we're some place spectacular ?" She queried, not expecting him to answer. " You know, I'd probably appreciate it more if I could witness the spectacle."

" You will. It's just a bit further. You'll manage." He assured her.

She resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't going to get any further with him and decided to concentrate instead on her other senses.

She already knew it was cold. It was colder even than it had been in New York, so that must mean that had gone further North instead of south. She could hear people, crowds of people around her, so where ever she was, it was a popular destination, despite the frigid air.

There was a roaring. She had no idea what was causing it, but it very nearly drowned out all the rest of the noises around her and with each step they took, it got louder and more dominate. Very soon it became the only thing she could hear.

Then there was a dampness in the air that only made the chill more dominate and imposing.

Aspen, she thought. Maybe they were in Aspen. It would explain the cold, but not the dampness and not the concrete under her feet. It certainly didn't explain the roaring. Besides they hadn't been in the plane that long.

No, where ever this was, it was close to New York and cold and wet and loud. She had no idea why he would choose this as some sort of romantic destination. If that was what he had in mind, he had certainly missed the mark.

Then they stopped and she felt him turn her away from him. She could feel his chest nestled against her back, pulling her tightly into him. The roaring was almost deafening now. Blocking out all the other noises around them. He took her hands and placed over a cold, wet railing of some kind, folding her fingers around the metal until she held it firmly.

Then the blindfold was suddenly gone and the sight before her was beyond amazing.

Massive towers of plunging water fell over the jagged rock wall surrounding them creating a mist that brushed her face with an almost physical touch. They stood in a cage, directly over of the enormous falls in the middle of a bridge spanning two jutting rock formations.

She quivered and felt her face stretch into a smile so wide it nearly broke her face in half. Her heart pounded as she spied the brightly colored rainbow, glistening in the path of all the rushing water.

" Niagara Falls, " She gushed as she turned towards him breathlessly.

" I thought the noise would have given me away by now." He told her as he beamed back at her, clearly thrilled by her reaction.

She turned back to the falls and they stood together watching in silence for so long she almost lost all sense of time and place.

She felt transported and despite the crowds bustling around her, she felt that there was no one else in the world besides them and the glorious display of Mother Nature's power before them.

Chuck cleared his throat behind her, breaking the silence as he pulled her more securely into his chest.

" I brought you here with a purpose in mind."

" And what purpose was that ?" She asked as she buried her head against his shoulder, all thoughts of her injury completely erased.

" I'm giving you your moment, Blair. This is your happily ever after."

Her heart flipped in her chest, dropping all the way to bottom of her stomach before jumping back up into her throat. She couldn't form coherent words as she batted at the tears that were forming in her eyes as emotions overcame here.

He turned her towards him and drew her back into his chest as he found her eyes and held them steadily in his sincere, open gaze.

" Chuck, " She heard the words fall from her lips without realizing she had spoken them.

" I love you, Blair and I want to make this work. So I'm making you a promise right now." His voice wasn't the least bit shaky or uncertain as he spoke. " I promise to do everything I can to be exactly who you want me to be."

She stepped even closer to him, having to physically concentrate to make her legs move as she wanted them to. " No, Chuck."

He looked at her completely dumbfounded, taking an unconscious step back from her. " What ?"

" The only person I want you to be is you. I don't want some hero in a movie." She laced her hands around his shoulder and drew him down to her lips. " You are my romantic hero. You're Chuck Bass. And you're all mine. Who could ask for more than that ?"

The power of the feeling of his lips against hers almost caused her legs to fail her. If it weren't for his arms holding her upright she knew she would have fallen to the floor.

" I am, you know." He told her when they finally broke apart.

" You are what ?" She giggled as he turned her in his arms so she was again facing the awe-inspiring sight before her.

" Yours, all yours. I have been for a long time now." He answered with his face buried his in hair.

" Just like I'm yours." She sighed. " I love you. I just hope your man enough to handle that."

" Is that a challenge ?" He laughed.

" Yes, it is, Bass. I dare you to love me. Better yet," She grabbed his hands and held them even tighter around her waist. " I dare you to let me love you."

" Oh, you are so on, Waldorf." He agreed.


End file.
